New broadband strategy - a great Christmas present!

It finally arrived - the government's new broadband strategy. And sure enough, it was the Christmas present to the people I wanted! It is clear and concrete in the parts we see as most important, and exactly the strategy Sweden needs to become fully connected. Through the broadband strategy, the government wants to motivate all market players to continue the rapid expansion of broadband, and I am convinced that they will do so.

I am of course pleased that the strategy meets the wish list of IT&Telecom companies; it has concrete measurable targets, a clear mobility objective and it is inclusive.

We now have a more ambitious goal from the government, but without additional funding at the moment from the state. The government expects, and relies on, the funding of the digital infrastructure to come primarily from market players. For those of us who have been working on the broadband issue for many years, this is no surprise. The previous broadband strategy from 2009 had the same clear direction. What is important to point out now is that as the government raises its ambitions with broadband targets that cover everyone, it becomes increasingly important that the government helps to create better conditions for market players to invest. The government must increasingly help to remove obstacles and create better conditions for the investments that our member companies want to make. Because that is the case. Today, there is no lack of capital or willingness to build broadband on the part of market players. But there are challenges and obstacles to solve and remove. I think that the government in its broadband strategy clearly confirms that they are aware of this, by emphasizing that it is crucial that private investment is not prevented and crowded out, but that market players continue their investments and are given incentives and conditions for it. Wise and important. The fact that the PTS has been given the task of clarifying roles and rules when it comes to the role of urban networks and the public sector in the market is also excellent.

In the Broadband Forum's New Start Group, which is led by PTS Acting Director General Catarina Wretman and where I sit together with ten other representatives of broadband Sweden, we have identified the biggest challenges we see ahead of us to achieve the government's broadband goals. Two of our top priorities are municipal commitment and municipal implementation processes. Therefore, it is very positive that the government in the broadband strategy emphasizes the key role of municipalities in broadband expansion in terms of, for example, transparency of requirements and fees for work on municipal land, streamlining of permit processes and competitive neutrality.

What remains now is to get all actors on track and to continue working hard to remove the obstacles identified in collaboration. It does no one any good to ignore the challenges that actually exist, but I can see that the government's new clear strategy will make this work much easier. The broadband strategy is a nice Christmas present from the government to the Swedish people!

Thank you Peter Eriksson!