"If you don't have internet, you are left out"

Yesterday, SVT's #ettsverige campaign began by highlighting the challenge of getting access to good broadband even in rural areas. The focus on this issue is very positive because access to good broadband is a democracy issue, which I have raised on many occasions and in several contexts since last spring. Unfortunately, I am not so hopeful when I hear that Sweden's IT Minister Mehmet Kaplan, when interviewed by SVT about the current situation, relies on two initiatives as the solution to the challenge.

To begin with, Kaplan points to the SEK 3.25 billion in broadband support that will be able to contribute to the expansion of fiber in rural areas. An investment that was negotiated and presented by the previous government over a year ago. Of course, SEK 3.25 billion may seem like a lot of money. But given that we estimate that around SEK 50 billion in investments is needed to reach 90 percent of the country's population, it is not enough for the remaining 10 percent. Even if the government relies on volunteer local enthusiasts to build the digital infrastructure, which in itself has an inherent problem that was highlighted in SVT's feature and which I have also previously questioned the reasonableness of, significantly greater investments are required for everyone in Sweden to be able to get good and future-proof broadband.

The IT Minister also mentions the proposed implementation of the so-called Excavation Directive as a law that will make it cheaper to build broadband. The industry also believes that the law may have some, albeit moderate, positive effects on broadband deployment in Sweden. However, it is doubtful that it would have any significant effects on broadband deployment outside urban areas.

From the industry's point of view, we maintain that there are good opportunities to achieve the government's goal of 100 Mbit/s to 90 percent of all households and businesses by 2020, if the private players are given the right conditions to build the digital infrastructure in all municipalities. And if the government's ambition is for everyone in Sweden to have access to a good 30 Mbit/s, as Kaplan said in yesterday's feature, more initiatives are needed than the two he referred to. And a clearer IT policy, especially for rural areas.

When I met Kaplan in January, I felt that we agreed that a prerequisite for being able to participate in our now digital society is to have a connection to the digital infrastructure with sufficient speed. #ettsverige shows that there are more people who agree. Because as Bitte Marelius outside Hallstavik said in the report in Aktuellt yesterday:

"The whole society needs the internet. And if you don't have the internet, you are left out."