The truth - not so complex to explain

"If you as a homeowner choose to let Gavlenet bury fiber to your house, you are then locked to them. This information is sent out via the company's customer service and staff in the field. Now Gefle Dagblad can show that this is not true." This is what I read in my news report today. At the bottom of the page, readers can mark how they feel after reading the article, and I'm not surprised that the angry old man has received 186 marks at the time of writing. Personally, I'd like to mark all three on the right: "Wow" as in stunned, but also "Sorry" and "Angry".

Because if what the article says is true - that an operator in the broadband market chooses to both withhold and misinform its customers in order to prevent them from joining competitors - it is of course unacceptable. And unsurprisingly, customer confidence in such an operator is low.

The goal of any serious operator is to satisfy all customers. This naturally includes ensuring that customers understand what they are buying and on what terms. For an industry like ours, where customer confidence in us is relatively low for various reasons and where product and service development is so rapid that it can be difficult for customers to understand and make qualified comparisons of suppliers' offers, this is a major challenge. Add to that the fact that what we buy - for example fiber to get access to good connectivity in our home - is so important to us does not make the challenge less. Customer demands and expectations are high, and competition in the market is fierce. Which is all to the good. Both things drive the market forward and benefit the serious players who work hard and invest a lot in meeting that challenge. Both to meet customers' expectations, and to better earn their trust.

Last week I hosted a meeting for a large group of representatives from several of our members who supply fiber to homes. The focus of the meeting was to jointly review how the contract terms for fiber to the home can be clarified and improved, for the benefit of consumers. There was no doubt that there is potential for improvement, and a shared ambition to exploit it. I remain adamant that no serious operator wants to cheat or mislead their customers - they know that no one benefits in the long run from dissatisfied customers. I am convinced that Gavlenet knows this too.

That they have nevertheless acted as they have, abusing consumer confidence in both themselves and their competitors in the industry, is therefore astonishing. And regrettable to say the least.

I think it is very good that Gefle Dagblad is drawing attention to and highlighting this company's very questionable methods. The fact that more customers become aware that this is not how it should be done benefits both the customers and the players in the industry who prefer to compete on the basis of the most satisfied customers rather than on shutting out other suppliers with the help of misleading sales. It is not that complex to explain.