How much broadband will 850 million buy?

The government announced on Friday that it wants to spend an additional SEK 850 million on broadband investments in areas where the conditions for commercial broadband expansion are lacking.

As I said before, fresh new funding for broadband in rural areas is of course welcome - even if it is not a few billion this time. Apart from the fact that, despite this injection, further investment will be needed, and a much more active broadband policy on the part of the government, I have two requests to make of the government:

One: Make sure the money goes to the right place. That is to say, that it is pushed to where the conditions for commercial development are lacking. Market players are keen to invest, and when the right conditions are provided by public actors, these investments last longer. Public funds must therefore be spent in areas that are not commercially interesting in order to achieve the greatest possible benefit.

Two: Set clear requirements for those who receive broadband support to use it as wisely as possible by building robust and future-proof according to the industry's new guidance for robust fiber networks Robust fiber. The guidance is based on the industry's collective knowledge and experience and sets out minimum requirements for planning, designing, laying or documenting fiber networks.

Money is worth so much more when used wisely; now make sure that these 850 million SEK are used as far as possible in the work of ensuring that everyone in Sweden has access to a good and future-proof digital connection!