One step closer to a digitalized Sweden

A lot of energy and time has been invested over the past year in getting the Swedish Transport Administration to act as a brake on broadband expansion. It's pretty obvious that broadband expansion is an important industry issue, but sometimes I've wondered if I've spent an unreasonable amount of time on this particular issue. There are so many other important issues to pursue.

Digitalization is now present as an enabler and challenger in most of society. Perhaps not as much in the election campaign as we would like, but regardless, the digital transformation is steadily gaining momentum.

Good connectivity is needed throughout the country if Sweden is to become the best in the world at taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization. In cities, rural areas and sparsely populated areas. To make mobile connections possible, fiber cables are needed in the ground.

Therefore, it is crucial that we can lay fiber along all the Swedish Transport Administration's roads. Without fiber cables, digitization in society is slowed down. If digitization is slowed down, people's ability to live and work in rural or sparsely populated areas is greatly reduced.

For a long time, the dialog with the Swedish Transport Administration on this issue has been inadequate to say the least. As a trade association, we have worked hard together with our members to make the Swedish Transport Administration understand the importance of an open dialogue and genuine cooperation. Only then can we create better conditions for people living outside the big cities.

It was therefore extremely gratifying that the Swedish Transport Administration contacted me at the beginning of the summer to discuss the government assignment they received in May. The conversation resulted in a meeting, and on Tuesday the Swedish Transport Administration, IP-Only, Telia and IT&Telecom companies met. The meeting was, in my opinion, the first really constructive meeting on broadband expansion and the role of the Swedish Transport Administration in over a year. The dialog that we have been asking for for so long really got underway.

Of course, a lot of hard work remains, both for the Swedish Transport Administration and all broadband builders, before the fibre cables are in place and we enjoy a fully digitized society. But the wind has changed, the investment in time has borne fruit and I feel more hopeful than in a long time that both rural and sparsely populated areas will now be able to be digitized.

So yes, I have spent a lot of time on this issue. But given the outcome, the prioritization feels just right.

Photo: top from left, Kaj Werner, Telia, Ove Alm, Telia, Ernst Karlsson, IP-Only, David Troëng, IP-Only, Christian Eriksson, Swedish Transport Administration, Pernilla Svahn, IP-Only, Monica Svingen, Swedish Transport Administration