Paper short abstract:

This presentation concentrates on the environmental history of telecommunications infrastructure and its building in the Arctic, especially in the context of northernmost Finland and the traditional lands of the indigenous Sámi people.

Paper long abstract:

This presentation concentrates on the environmental history of telecommunications infrastructure and its building in the Arctic, especially in the context of northernmost Finland and the traditional lands of the indigenous Sámi people. The certain features of the Arctic, such as snow, ice, wind (in treeless areas), and ground frost have always affected telecommunication lines, but also the infrastructure has had impacts on the environment in which it is built. Although getting a telephone was generally a positive thing for local communities, the construction of a new kind of infrastructure always caused changes to the environment. Forests have been cut down to make way for telephone lines, and telecommunications towers have been built on high fells, which have changed the landscape. The construction of the infrastructure has changed the habitats of the animals (e.g. reindeer), but the animals have sometimes used the telecommunications infrastructure for their own purposes. Although the construction of the telephone infrastructure has affected the sensitive Arctic environment, telephones could also be used in work related to environmental protection. This presentation highlights examples of such cases in the context of the 20th century.