Editing Svalbard Undersea Cable System (section)

==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 {{convert|500|km|sp=us}} to use only a single ground station, yet allow downloading from every orbit. SvalSat opened on 15 April 1999.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wormdal |first=Bård |title=Satellittkrigen |publisher=Pax |year=2011 |isbn=978-82-530-3450-8 |location=Oslo |pages=40–41 |language=no}}</ref> 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.<ref name="gjesteland">{{Cite journal |last=Gjesteland |first=Eirik |year=2003 |title=Technical solution and implementation of the Svalbard fibre cable |url=http://telektronikk.com/volumes/pdf/3.2004/Page_140-152.pdf |url-status=dead |journal=Teletronikk |issue=3 |pages=140–152 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415123547/http://www.telektronikk.com/volumes/pdf/3.2004/Page_140-152.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2012 |access-date=12 April 2012}}</ref>

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&nbsp;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.<ref name="skar">{{Cite journal |last=Skår |first=Rolf |author-link=Rolf Skår |year=2003 |title=Why and how Svalbard got the fibre |url=http://telektronikk.com/volumes/pdf/3.2004/Page_134-139.pdf |url-status=live |journal=Teletronikk |issue=3 |pages=134–139 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415123422/http://www.telektronikk.com/volumes/pdf/3.2004/Page_134-139.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2012 |access-date=12 April 2012}}</ref>

[[File:CABLE INNOVATOR.jpg|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 [[Fishing trawler|trawler]]-free area along the Norwegian coast north of [[Trondheim (city)|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.<ref name="skar" />

Tyco Communications was announced as the winner on 7 March and negotiations were finalized on 14 April, as a [[turnkey]] contract on the condition that the cable could be financed. The main difficulty was that NSC, a [[stiftelse|foundation]], had very little equity, and spent most of its cash on a US$300,000 detailed study for Tyco to advance the planning. [[Hannon Armstrong]] was selected as a financial partner and the money was guaranteed by the [[Ministry of Trade and Industry (Norway)|Ministry of Trade and Industry]]. The first work took place at Breivika: the land-owner was contacted on 7 May, a sales agreement was signed on 13 May, permits were finalized on 23 May, construction started the next day and the NOK&nbsp;5-million facility was completed on 25 July. Permission for the installations on Svalbard was granted on 17 June.<ref name="skar" />

Cable-laying started on 21 July and lasted until 15 August. The work set a world record {{convert|1671|m|sp=us|adj=on}} deep plow.<ref name="skar" /> The work was carried out using the cable-laying vessels ''Cable Innovator'' and ''Maersk Recorder''. Segment 1 was spliced on 1 August and Segment 2 was spliced on 13 August.<ref name="gjesteland" /> Any costs exceeding US$40 million were covered by Telenor Svalbard, who levied it on other users on Svalbard over a period of six years.<ref name="skar" />