Why is there a 5TBps line from the northern part of mainland Norway up to Svalbard? Is there much telecomms there?
And then from http://www.ksat.no/Products/Svalsat.htm: "The satellite coverage at this latitude holds unique opportunities and SvalSat is the only commercial ground station in the world able to provide all-orbit-support (14 of 14 orbits) to owners and operators of polar orbiting satellites."
Aside from the "research" answers, it's probably the government trying to give them something to do besides drinking all winter long:-)
From Wikipedia: "The most notable feature of Longyearbyen's climate is the lack of sunlight for over 4 months of the year in winter"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard_Undersea_Cable_System
The earth/ground station on Svalbard is a key site for collecting remote sensing data from polar orbiting satellites, such as those from NOAA, due to its close proximity to the north pole (many of these satellites are polar orbitors; e.g. follow an orbit which almost crosses over the pole).
"The Spitsbergen Treaty of 1920 recognizes Norwegian sovereignty, and the 1925 Svalbard Act made Svalbard a full part of the Kingdom of Norway. They also established Svalbard as a free economic zone and a demilitarized zone."
and
"Svalbard is a demilitarized zone, as the treaty prohibits the establishment of military installations. Norwegian military activity is limited to fisheries surveillance by the Norwegian Coast Guard. The treaty requires Norway to protect the natural environment."