Atmospheric opacity measurements by several investigators show that the Antarctic plateau is likely to be the best submillimeter‐wave observatory site on the Earth’s surface. The Antarctic Submillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory (AST/RO), a 1.7 m offset telescope for heterodyne spectroscopy currently being installed at the South Pole, will be a proof‐of‐concept for a permanent Antarctic submillimeter observatory. In future, a 15‐m class telescope or multi‐element array at an international base on the Antarctic Plateau at 4200‐m altitude could be used to observe protogalaxies and protostars. Such a telescope might be an international collaboration.