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. 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 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. 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 5-million facility was completed on 25 July. Permission for the installations on Svalbard was granted on 17 June. Cable-laying started on 21 July and lasted until 15 August. The work set a world record deep plow. 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. 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. Specifications The fiber cable system runs from Harstad via Breivika on the island of Andøya to Hotellneset on Svalbard. The system consists of two separate cables, Segment 1 and Segment 2 between Breivika and Hotellneset, and Segment 1A and Segment 2A between Breivika and Harstad. The lengths for Segment 1 and 2 are , respectively, and for Segment 1A and 2A . Both cables have eight fiber pairs,