At the Arctic Council 2017 Ministerial meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska, the Ministers established the Task Force on Improved Connectivity in the Arctic (Task Force) and gave it a mandate to compare the needs of those who live, operate, and work in the Arctic with available infrastructure, and to work with the telecommunications industry and the Arctic Economic Council (AEC) to encourage the creation of the required infrastructure with an eye toward pan-Arctic solutions and to report to Ministers in 2019.
The Task Force started its work in Helsinki in November 2017, where it held its first meeting. Since then, the Task Force had three other meetings:, one in Washington D.C in May 2018, the next in Copenhagen in September 2018, and the last in Reykjavik in December 2018.
In its report “Improving Connectivity in the Arctic” the Task Force highlights that opportunities for improved connectivity are on the horizon, increasing connectivity, speed and coverage throughout the Arctic.
The report "Improving Connectivity in the Arctic" is available here.