Report: Municipalities hinder free competition

If Sweden is to meet the ambitious broadband targets, many players need to invest, cooperate and compete. In this context, the actions of Swedish municipalities are crucial. This report describes and gives several examples of the worrying development IT&Telekomföretagen sees where municipality after municipality, through actions that both inhibit the expansion and put competition out of play, have begun to put obstacles in the way of broadband expansion.

Ensuring that everyone in Sweden has the opportunity to participate in the connected society that is now emerging through good digital connectivity is a priority issue for our government, which is clearly expressed, among other things, in the goals set in the Broadband Strategy for Sweden. 

For the rollout to be implementedin all parts of the country, Sweden's municipalities need to have municipal broadband strategies and promote effective competition. This is the case in many of Sweden's municipalities, and cooperation between private operators and municipalities is working well. Unfortunately, this is not a comprehensive description of the actions of Sweden's municipalities in relation to broadband expansion.

Several of our member companies testify to case after case where constructive cooperation is rejected, administrative processes are delayed, land contracts are denied and external investments in the municipality are rejected. We believe that the actions of these municipalities, and the fact that there is no healthy competition in these municipalities, are contrary to the municipalities' mission and are also unwarranted: today there is neither capital nor willingness to expand the infrastructure on the part of market players.

A healthy competitive situation in all municipalities would mean that the investments made in digital infrastructure would be sufficient for more people and attract more actors to invest further. Unhealthy competition in a municipality instead risks affecting the municipality's citizens through a more limited expansion of new infrastructure, less freedom of choice and higher prices.

In the light of this, the IT&Telecom companies:

- proposed to the Rural Committee that the relevant authority, e.g. PTS, be tasked with ensuring that municipalities apply competition-neutral conditions between the municipally owned urban network and private operators. The work should begin with a survey of the situation regarding competitive neutrality between municipal urban networks and private operators in all municipalities in Sweden.

- notified Hässleholm Municipality to the Swedish Competition Authority, as Hässleholm Municipality's actions are of fundamental importance and risk, if not stopped, spreading to other municipalities. By refusing land agreements and excavation permits for laying fiber in the municipality because the municipality wants to protect its own fiber investment, Hässleholm municipality completely excludes competition from other players.