In October 2023, Matty Jordan, a construction expert at New Zealand's Scott Base in Antarctica, posted videos on Instagram and TikTok. In the video, he captioned: "This is one of the least visited places on Earth, and I have the privilege to set foot here."

In the video, he guides the audience through an empty, echoing hut, pointing out where Ernest Shackleton and his expedition team lived and worked in 1907. Socks are still hanging to dry, and food is still neatly stacked in the right place, preserved by the cold weather.

Jordan initially posted videos on TikTok to let his family and friends know about his life in Antarctica, but now he finds himself in the spotlight. His number of followers has exceeded one million.

The video of Shackleton's hut alone has been viewed millions of times from all over the world. It is also a miracle: until recently, those working and living at Antarctic bases could not communicate with the outside world so easily.

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Antarctica has always been like an isolated world. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, when large-scale Antarctic exploration began, explorers had to face the life of being cut off from the civilized world and their families for many years each time they went there, and communication with the outside world could only rely on ships sent by various countries to deliver letters.They are a group of people living in the most remote areas of the Earth, and also a group of people who are extremely lonely.

This poses a dual challenge to the physical and mental health of the explorers. With only limited supplies on hand, the explorers can only conduct a limited number of scientific experiments. Even if they need help (which often happens), it is difficult to send out an SOS distress signal.

Moreover, it is important that many people (the expedition team) rely on publicity to obtain funding, but they cannot let the world know what has happened.

In 1911, the Australian expedition led by Douglas Mawson was the first to bring an antenna to Antarctica and attempted to transmit and receive wireless signals.

Although Mawson was able to send some information there, he never received any replies, so he did not know whether he had succeeded.They are located at the Davis Station on the Antarctic coast, where the wind rages at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour, even lasting for months, all day long.

Just after they finally succeeded in erecting the radio receiving pole, another problem arose: their radio operator suffered from a mental illness in the six months of darkness and was unable to work. As a result, the expedition team was once again isolated.

Although the communication situation in Antarctica has been steadily improving since the establishment of the first permanent base, even decades after Mawson's ill-fated journey, life in Antarctica has always meant a certain degree of disconnection.

As our lives increasingly rely on continuous connections, instant updates, streaming, and algorithms, living in Antarctica is seen as a way to get rid of all the digital noise, whether it is good or bad.The feeling of a "Shangri-La" has now vanished. Starlink, a satellite constellation developed by Elon Musk's SpaceX company, which aims to provide high-speed broadband internet services globally, has already included Antarctica in its coverage, bringing the internet connectivity that the civilized world possesses to that place and the people living there.

Initially, there were too few stories heard about Antarctic expeditions, so they were hot commodities: explorers like Mawson and Shackleton, as soon as they returned to the port, newspapers would pay a high price for the news they brought back.

Now, people stationed at Antarctic bases and field camps, as well as the surging tourists on sightseeing ships, can post videos, posts, and make video calls.

Suddenly, Antarctica (one of the seven continents), which was once the most remote region on Earth and had the strongest sense of alienation from the civilized world, has become closer to other continents.

For those who must frequently go there for work and life, this day seems to have come late.Let the Public Know What Happened

People have always been eager to learn more about Antarctica. In the early days, regularly updating the latest news of explorers venturing into the polar winds was both a perfect way to attract media attention and a key to securing the funding needed for large-scale private expeditions at the beginning of the 20th century.

No one can better illustrate the close relationship between exploration and attention than Admiral Richard E. Byrd.

Byrd was a charismatic self-promoter who named his series of bases on the Ross Ice Shelf "Little America" and brought along a boy scout representing American youth. Byrd was the quintessential famous explorer, whose bold feats constantly made headlines.In 1929, his first privately funded expedition aimed to reach Antarctica by airplane. Byrd often kept the media updated on his latest progress through radio telegraphy.

He sent Morse code messages via wireless signals, transmitting directly from "Little America" to coastal stations in San Francisco and Long Island.

A reporter from The New York Times would almost daily report on the expedition by interpreting the radio telegrams, and the public was closely following Byrd's every move.

Ultimately, he made the historic leap over the South Pole on November 29, 1929.

By the time of Byrd's next expedition in 1933, technology had advanced enough to establish the first audio broadcasting station in Antarctica.The radio station utilizes the long-distance communication capabilities of shortwave radio to send official mission reports and is also capable of receiving information from the explorers.

The expedition's journalist, Charles Murphy, hosts a variety show every week and broadcasts it live to the public via AM radio.

This innovative program makes viewers from thousands of miles away feel as if they are participating in the adventure without leaving their homes. Like other popular radio programs of the time, "Adventures with Admiral Byrd" is a richly plotted serial drama, with the brave explorer himself directly reporting on the progress of the expedition.

Scientists also provide weather forecasts and speeches, and perform songs and short plays.

In the most popular segment of the program, Americans can go live on air with the staff at the "Little America" base.The "Little America" station master had a virtual conversation with his wife on the occasion of their 21st wedding anniversary, while the expedition team's cook, Al Carbone (Waldorf-Astoria), chatted with the chef from the New York Waldorf Hotel for a while.

A 1934 review stated: "The vibrant true adventure stories brought interesting programs to the world's radio audience, as they had long been accustomed to the common fictional plots in the radio."

The program linked its main sponsor, General Foods' Grape-Nuts cereal, with the brave spirit of Admiral Byrd and his companions, and vividly brought the life in Antarctica to millions of listeners, with an unprecedentedly wide coverage.

Amateur Radio Enthusiasts and Mysterious CodesIn 1957, Admiral Byrd was widely recognized as the world's foremost Antarctic exploration expert and led the United States' "Operation Deep Freeze," aimed at establishing a permanent American presence on the Antarctic continent.

The United States Navy's construction battalion, code-named "Seabees," was deployed on the solid ground of Ross Island, responsible for building McMurdo Station, adjacent to the first exploration hut built by Captain Robert Scott in 1901.

Operation Deep Freeze brought a large-scale military presence to Antarctica, including the most complex and advanced communication arrays that the Navy could build. Despite this, those who wanted to talk to their families had few options.

Regular mail could be transported back and forth a few times a year by ship, and they could also send expensive telegrams via radio, but only 100 or 200 words per month.

However, these methods were private, unlike the personal communications of Byrd's expedition team conducted via radio, which were, by default, audible to others.Faced with these limitations, another option quickly became popular among naval soldiers. Amateur radio operators at McMurdo Station established contact with amateur radio enthusiasts in the mainland United States and received their assistance (Note: These amateur radio operators are also known as "hams," which literally translates to "ham").

Naval soldiers would call an amateur radio enthusiast in the United States from McMurdo Station, who would then relay their call to the destination for free through the U.S. telephone system.

Some of these radio operators became legendary figures. Jules Madey and his brother John, who were teenagers in New Jersey at the time, had the call sign K2KGJ.

They built a 33.5-meter-tall radio tower in their backyard, equipped with a transmitter powerful enough to communicate with McMurdo Sound.

Radio operators from McMurdo Station, the South Pole, and the Ross Ice Shelf could call the Madey brothers almost any time of day or night, and the brothers would connect them to their respective homes.Jules became a celebrity and idol in Antarctica. Several engaged couples he helped contact even invited him and his brother to their weddings (of course, after the groom had returned from his Antarctic journey). Decades later, many of those who participated in Operation Deep Freeze still remember the Made brothers.

In the early 1960s, the continuous Operation Deep Freeze improved communication between the United States' Antarctic outposts.

People installed larger antennas, more powerful receivers and transmitters, and improved ground-to-air communication systems, enhancing the capabilities for scientific activities, transportation, and construction.

Around the same time, the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition was also improving their communication capabilities. Like other Antarctic projects, they used teletypes to send text via radio waves, connecting to the telephone system on the Australian mainland.

Teletype was the precursor to fax technology, SMS, and email, and has been used as an alternative to Morse code, high-frequency, and very high-frequency radio voice since the 1960s. On the other end of the line, a terminal would receive the text and print it out.In order to save on the costly "per word rate," the expedition team constructed a special code known as "WYSSA" (pronounced "whizzer" in an Australian accent).

This creative solution has become a legendary tale in the history of Antarctica.

The phrase "WYSSA" itself stands for "Dear, all my love to you."

Many other codes provide a variety of preset phrases for common topics, such as describing the inconveniences of Antarctic life (YAYIR, "Fine snow penetrated the gaps in the hut"), conveying affection (YAAHY, "Eagerly awaiting your next letter, my dear"), and conveying personal status updates (YIGUM, "I've grown a beard, it's terrible").In the Era of Change

Today, if you visit the radio station in Antarctica, you will see the huge radio domes that form a unique landscape.

Inside are the dish antennas that the tracking station relies on to track the satellites. The U.S. Antarctic Program releases a satellite schedule online every week, showing the time windows available for establishing connections.

The first satellites operated by the International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat) were launched in the early 1980s, greatly improving radio transmission.

The Inmarsat network covers most of the Antarctic Circle, but it does not cover all Antarctic stations. For example, McMurdo Station and Scott Base are not within the coverage area.Satellite networks can also provide high-quality services at any time of the day, unaffected by atmospheric disturbances.

In the 1990s, the Iridium satellite communication system, which uses low Earth orbit satellites, began to operate. These satellites were launched into polar orbits and provide continuous service to Antarctica.

Extensive satellite phone and email channels quickly replaced radio as the best way for Antarctic residents to talk to their families.

However, the 1,000 seasonal staff at McMurdo Station still need to share an internet link with a bandwidth of only 17Mbps, which can only be accessed through a few Ethernet cables. Although calls can be made, the cost is still high, and video calls are also difficult.

Now, the satellite revolution has taken the next step. In 2022 and 2023, people in Antarctica welcomed an exciting development: the first trial of SpaceX Starlink satellite connections.Its access signifies that the most remote areas of Antarctica, where a large number of important scientific works are being carried out, are finally closely connected to the civilized world.

During his first expedition in the Antarctic summer of 2009-2010, glaciologist Peter Neff from the University of Minnesota had to send a USB drive to McMurdo Station to share his field camp photos.

Now, Neff is the Field Research and Data Director of the Center for Oldest Ice Exploration (COLDEX), which is funded by the National Science Foundation of the United States. The project aims to find the oldest ice core records in Antarctica to unravel the mysteries of the Earth's past climate.

In the Antarctic summer of 2022-2023, he took the lead in installing Starlink equipment at the COLDEX field camp, making it one of the first Antarctic field camps to access high-speed internet.

Due to Neff's relationship with the National Science Foundation, the test was free at that time. However, in the Antarctic summer of 2023-2024, his camp had to pay $250 per month for 50GB of data, or $1,000 for 1TB, in addition to a $2,500 terminal fixed fee.The team can now easily connect with the world, allowing participants to send weather photos via text message or exchange spreadsheets with logistics managers far away.

Neff said that Starlink "helps to communicate easily in a form we are all accustomed to."

Matty Jordan, a TikTok creator at Scott Base, believes that Starlink has made Antarctic research easier.

He said: "Scientists can transfer a large amount of data back to New Zealand, which makes their work faster and more efficient."

Crucially, it can help the base's scientists to publicize their work to the public.Jordan said: "Social media is a simple way for people to learn about the research station, helping them to engage in the daily work there." He emphasized the importance of the public having the opportunity to further understand climate research.

"People use it first for outreach," agreed Ed Brook, the director of COLDEX, "as well as the possibility of talking with television, radio, or print journalists in the field."

Just like Bird and his radio show, the first use of upgraded communication channels is often to satisfy the world's curiosity about Antarctic stories.

High Bandwidth on IceThe next step in improving Antarctic communications may be a proposed undersea cable that is expected to connect New Zealand with McMurdo Station.

This will cost over 200 million US dollars, but as determined by the National Science Foundation at a symposium, it is a good thing not only for the United States and New Zealand, but also for all countries with Antarctic projects and the scientific research they conduct.

According to the report released by the symposium in 2021 (before the deployment of Starlink), the entire US Antarctic scientific community has the same bandwidth as many American households or small businesses, with each end user far below 100Mbps.

An optical fiber link capable of reaching 100Gbps-300Tbps will bring the internet speeds of Antarctic scientists on par with those in many other places.

This will also make Antarctica a more popular destination for tourists. In 2023, the number of tourists traveling to Antarctica was 40% higher than pre-pandemic levels.It is anticipated that over 100,000 visitors will arrive during the winter of 2023 to 2024, primarily traveling to the Antarctic Peninsula via expedition cruises.

Lizzie Williams, who has witnessed the changes brought by improved Starlink and internet connectivity to tourists, is the product manager for Swoop Antarctica, a travel agency specializing in Antarctic tourism projects.

She informed me via email: "Now people can send compressed photos and videos. We have even seen some individuals making video calls with their families, although there are occasional lags."

According to Williams, there has been an increase in daily inquiries about internet access on board the ships. An increasing number of people are even attempting to work remotely while on Antarctic cruises.

However, she warns that for Zoom calls, the internet connectivity on most ships is too expensive and unreliable. The cruise staff at Swoop also urges guests to minimize the use of various technologies.She said: "We encourage them to enjoy the icebergs and wildlife on the deck, to truly make the most of their precious time in Antarctica."

Some people living in Antarctica also advocate for using high technology as little as possible. Although the reach of social media may have spread to other parts of the world, so far, Antarctica is relatively safe to some extent.

Fortunately, so far, Starlink does not seem to have disrupted the special and close atmosphere of the Antarctic outpost.

Demie Huffman, a Ph.D. student in land and atmospheric sciences at the University of Minnesota, surveyed participants in COLDEX 2022 to 2023 to understand their experiences with using Starlink.

She said: "People are usually pleasantly surprised by its impact on team cohesion. They will spend a movie night together, rather than just reading a book or relying on a few things brought by a few people to pass the time."Despite this, the permanent residents of Antarctica still hope that the arrival of high-speed internet will not bring too many changes over time.

Jordan said: "In the winter, we have a rule that mobile phones are not allowed at the dining table to ensure that people establish closer personal relationships with others in the base."

In any case, Antarctica will always be a magical place, even if it is no longer isolated from the rest of the world.

Since explorers such as Scott and Shackleton published best-selling books, one of the greatest natural resources here has been stories.

People never tire of hearing about penguins, crevasses in glaciers, adventure stories, and natural wonders. There was a reason why journalists once flocked to train stations to meet returning explorers.Today, the millions of views on Jordan's TikTok videos are also justified.

Although going to Antarctica today no longer means being cut off from the world and completely entering another world, any upgrade in communication means cannot change the nature of this place, nor can it change the emotions it may inspire.

The place where Shackleton's men once lived is still howling with the wind, the same sun still hangs in the sky for up to six months without setting, and the icy landscape still has an indescribable attraction to the human soul.

But now, you can finally share these feelings with family and friends without delay.