Svalbard Undersea Cable System
Encyclopedia
The Svalbard Undersea Cable System consists of two 1400 km long submarine communications cable
s from Harstad
on the Norwegian mainland to Svalbard
. It is operated by Telenor
and officially opened 2004-02-01. Its capacity is used by NASA
, the United States Department of Defense
, the European Space Agency
, UNIS
and others.
It was built 2003 by Tyco Telecommunications
(Morristown, New Jersey, USA) for the Norwegian Space Centre
. The earth/ground station
on Svalbard is a key site for collecting remote sensing data from polar orbit
ing satellite
s, such as those from NOAA, due to its close proximity to the north pole (many of these satellites are polar orbiters; i.e. follow an orbit which almost crosses over the pole). It is operated as an extension of the main Norwegian ground station in Tromsø
(the Tromsø Satellite Station, see Swedish Institute of Space Physics
).
Currently only one of the 8 optical fibre pairs of each cable is in use, yielding a 10 Gbit/s transmission capacity per cable, with a prospective maximum capacity of 2500 Gbit/s per cable.
The cable has three landing points
located at:
Submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
s from Harstad
Harstad
is the second largest city and municipality by population, in Troms county, Norway – the city is also the third largest in North Norway. Thus Harstad is the natural centre for its district. Situated approximately north of the Arctic Circle, the city celebrated its 100th anniversary in...
on the Norwegian mainland to Svalbard
Svalbard
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
. It is operated by Telenor
Telenor
Telenor Group is the incumbent telecommunications company in Norway, with headquarters located at Fornebu, close to Oslo. Today, Telenor Group is mostly an international wireless carrier with operations in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia, working predominantly under the Telenor brand...
and officially opened 2004-02-01. Its capacity is used by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
, UNIS
University Centre in Svalbard
The University Centre in Svalbard is a Norwegian state-owned limited company that provides university-level education in arctic studies. The universities of Oslo, Bergen, Tromsø and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim are represented on its board. The centre is known as...
and others.
It was built 2003 by Tyco Telecommunications
Tyco International
Tyco International Ltd. is a highly diversified global manufacturing company incorporated in Switzerland, with United States operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey...
(Morristown, New Jersey, USA) for the Norwegian Space Centre
Norwegian Space Centre
The Norwegian Space Centre is a Norwegian government agency that promotes space exploration.-Norsk Romsenter :...
. The earth/ground station
Earth station
A ground station, earth station, or earth terminal is a terrestrial terminal station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft, and/or reception of radio waves from an astronomical radio source. Ground stations are located either on the surface of the Earth, or within Earth's...
on Svalbard is a key site for collecting remote sensing data from polar orbit
Polar orbit
A polar orbit is an orbit in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the equator...
ing satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
s, such as those from NOAA, due to its close proximity to the north pole (many of these satellites are polar orbiters; i.e. follow an orbit which almost crosses over the pole). It is operated as an extension of the main Norwegian ground station in Tromsø
Tromsø
Tromsø is a city and municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tromsø.Tromsø city is the ninth largest urban area in Norway by population, and the seventh largest city in Norway by population...
(the Tromsø Satellite Station, see Swedish Institute of Space Physics
Swedish Institute of Space Physics
The Swedish Institute of Space Physics or Institutet för rymdfysik is a Swedish government agency. The institute's primary task is to carry out basic research, education and associated observatory activities in space physics, space technology and atmospheric physics.-Foundation:The IRF was founded...
).
Technology
The system consists of 2 independent and diversely routed fibre optic segments, each with 20 repeaters on the sub sea part.| Distance covered between Svalbard and Breivika | Distance covered between Breivika and Harstad |
|---|---|
| Segment 1 1375 km (172 km of this buried) | Segment 1a 61 km |
| Segment 2 1339 km (173 km of this buried) | Segment 2a 74 km |
Currently only one of the 8 optical fibre pairs of each cable is in use, yielding a 10 Gbit/s transmission capacity per cable, with a prospective maximum capacity of 2500 Gbit/s per cable.
The cable has three landing points
Cable landing point
A cable landing point is the location where a submarine or other underwater cable makes landfall. The term is most often used for the landfall points of submarine telecommunications cables and submarine power cables. The landing will either be direct or via a branch from a main cable using a...
located at:
- HotellnesetHotellnesetHotellneset is a peninsula north-west of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway, sticking out into Adventfjorden. It is the location of Svalbard Airport, Longyear and the port for shipping of coal from Longyearbyen. Above Hotellneset is Platåberget, which is the location for Svalbard Satellite Station....
, SvalbardSvalbardSvalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... - Breivika, AndøyAndøyAndøy is the northernmost municipality in Nordland county, Norway, and it belongs to the Vesterålen archipelago. The largest island in the municipality is Andøya. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Andenes....
, NordlandNordlandis a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... - HarstadHarstadis the second largest city and municipality by population, in Troms county, Norway – the city is also the third largest in North Norway. Thus Harstad is the natural centre for its district. Situated approximately north of the Arctic Circle, the city celebrated its 100th anniversary in...
, TromsTromsor Romsa is a county in North Norway, bordering Finnmark to the northeast and Nordland in the southwest. To the south is Norrbotten Län in Sweden and further southeast is a shorter border with Lapland Province in Finland. To the west is the Norwegian Sea...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...