thumb|The landing site at [[Hotellneset]]
thumb|Landing station in [[Hotellneset]]
The Svalbard Undersea Cable System is a twin submarine communications cable which connects Svalbard to the mainland of Norway. The two optical fiber cable consist of two segments, from Harstad to Breivika in Andøy Municipality, and from Breivika to Hotellneset near Longyearbyen in Svalbard. The segments from Harstad to Breivika are long, respectively, and the segments from Breivika to Hotellneset . Each consists of eight fiber pairs and there are twenty optical communications repeaters on each segment. Each segment has a speed of 10 gigabits per second (Gb/s), with a future potential capacity of 2,500 Gbit/s. The system is now the sole telecommunications link to the archipelago.
Planning of the cables started in 2002 by the Norwegian Space Centre (NSC), who wanted increased bandwidth to expand their business at Svalbard Satellite Station (SvalSat). At the time all telecommunications from Svalbard were relayed via communications satellite. Financing was secured through a deal with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The cable system was supplied by Tyco Telecommunications and laying of the cable was carried out by Global Marine Systems in July and August 2003.
History
Svalbard was chosen for the location of SvalSat because of its high latitude which allows all satellites in a low Earth orbit with an orbit above to use only a single ground station, yet allow downloading from every orbit. SvalSat opened on 15 April 1999. It was established as a cooperation between NASA and NS. However, the ground station's capacity was limited by its broadband capacity. Transmission took place via a 55-Mbit/s connection via Intelsat, which served the archipelago's needs within telephone and Internet connection.
Telenor and the NSC conducted a feasibility study in 2002 for connecting SvalSat to the mainland by fiber. It was estimated to cost between NOK 400 and 500 million, or US$50 million, which presumed the laying of one cable with satellite used as backup. A stakeholder meeting was held on 24 and 25 July, which saw representatives from NASA, the Integrated Programme Office (IPO), the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Later that year the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System selected Helsinki over Svalbard for its ground station, largely because of the former's connection to the fiber network. NSC was in October offered various prices between US$30 and 40 million for the laying of a single fiber cable.
thumb|Cable Innovator was one of the two cable-laying vessels
NSC conducted negotiations with NASA on 31 October 2002, resulting in an understanding of NASA being able to provide $US20 million towards the line, paid over seven years. The following day Telenor stated they were not interested in participating in the venture. Telenor changed its opinion in the following weeks and agreed to press forward on 18 November. The invitation to tender was issued on 21 December, with a deadline of 3 February. Bringing the line out from Andøya was selected because it is the only trawler-free area along the Norwegian coast north of Trondheim. The tender deadline was extended to 25 February. The bids showed the possibility of laying a twin cable ring for US$40 million. However, the cable-laying companies were not willing to accept a payment over seven years.
See also
- 2024 Baltic Sea submarine cable disruptions
- Russian sabotage operations in Europe
- Russian shadow fleet