Svalbard’s location at 78 degrees north makes it an ideal spot for downloading data from satellites in polar orbits. SvalSat, the northernmost ground station in the world, was established in 1997 but faced challenges in transferring large volumes of data to the mainland. In 2004, a subsea fibre connection was successfully established between Longyearbyen and mainland Norway, enabling efficient transfer of data and ensuring the growth and development of SvalSat’s activities. The fibre connection, considered part of the national critical infrastructure, serves a wide range of customers and plays a crucial role in weather forecasting, ship traffic surveillance, and communication services for rocket launches.
https://spacenorway.no/en/what-we-do/operational-infrastructure/the-svalbard-fibre-optic-cable-connection/