[ceejayoz]

Because there's a non-space part of the route you have to deal with.

Lasers + clouds = unfun.

[davidmurdoch]

Aren't the lasers in space? I don't think the satellites beam lasers to/from earth.

[ceejayoz]

Until you put all of Sweden (and the people they want to talk to, like Estonia) in space, that data's going to have to come down at some point. Fast inter-satellite data doesn't help you if it has to queue to get in/out of space.