Are telecom operators Galten Särimner?

The auction of frequencies in the 1800 MHz band has recently been completed. It brought in SEK 1.35 billion to the Treasury. The previous auctions in the 2.6 GHz and 800 MHz bands each raised SEK 2.1 billion for the Treasury. These large one-off costs are only part of the flow of money from the operators to the government. The financing of the Post & Telecom Agency costs the operators around SEK 250 million annually. There is also a so-called contingency fee, which for 2010 was SEK 100 million.

There is a view that the operators are making so much money that it is therefore perfectly acceptable to transfer money to the Treasury in various ways and that this is an eternal order, i.e. it would be some kind of axiom that telecom operator activities are always extremely profitable.

Now another area has emerged where operators may be losing money. An investigation into profit sharing in expropriation, where there are thoughts that a landowner, in addition to the market compensation, should somehow also get a share of the buyer's profit linked to his business. It is clear that the addressees are mobile operators who must have access to places to erect masts and lay fiber.

If this proposal goes through, it is not unlikely that the costs of the voluntary leases that exist today will go up by almost 35%, which is about 200 million.

It is to be hoped that all the sanctions will not mean that Galten Särimner has been slaughtered once too often.