Defeating the broadband threshold
Poor broadband should not be an obstacle to public services in rural areas. Anyone who prefers to visit a health center or the Swedish Tax Agency digitally should of course be able to do so regardless of where they live, writes editorial writer Agnes Karnatz in several of Sweden's largest rural newspapers.
In the text Agnes Karnatz refers to Karnatz to the IT&Telecom companies' report Fast broadband for jobs and growth throughout Sweden in which we state that the government's broadband target does not benefit sparsely populated areas. This is because it is enough that 46% of households there have access to broadband, as long as 100% of households in urban areas have it.
Read Agnes' full text below:
For those vacationing in the countryside, the lack of broadband can be relaxing. However, those who live permanently in the same conditions are likely to feel the opposite. According to a report by IT&Telekomföretagen (26/6), this situation applies to six out of ten rural households.
The same report estimates that a proper roll-out of broadband outside cities could create 28 000 new jobs. This would increase tax revenues for municipalities by SEK 11.5 billion each year. The benefits for both residents and society are clear. What is less clear is how the additional broadband expansion, which will be more expensive outside cities, will be financed.
To achieve the short-term goal of 95 percent of the country's households having broadband with at least 100 megabits next year, the government invested SEK 200 million in this year's spring amending budget. However, the target does not necessarily have to favor rural areas. This is because it is sufficient for 46% of these households to have access to broadband, as long as 100% of households in urban areas have it.
For all households in rural areas to have access to broadband, investments of SEK 21 billion are required. The SEK 200 million in the spring amending budget is thus only a very small step in the right direction.
As the provision of public services via the internet becomes more widespread, and is seen as an option especially for rural residents, the state's responsibility for deployment is reinforced. In a sense, broadband infrastructure can be equivalent to other communications, such as road and rail. But fortunately for the government, government support in turn generates market investment for up to half the cost of broadband deployment. However, in rural areas, where deployment costs more per household, IT&Telekomföretagen estimates that public funding of up to 80% is required.
The high cost of broadband to relatively few households is a significant barrier. But this is also where the benefits are greatest. Broadband at sufficient speed not only means an easier life for many people living in rural areas. It also removes a deterrent for those thinking of moving there. And while far from all jobs can be done using only a connected computer, broadband opens up a wider variety of jobs in rural communities.
Broadband should not be a way for the public sector to avoid physical public services in rural areas. Anyone who prefers to visit a health center or the local office of the Swedish Tax Agency should of course be able to do so. But it's about providing the equivalent options that urban residents have. And it certainly makes a bigger difference for those who have further to travel.
While so-called digital exclusion has far more causes than connectivity, no one can deny the benefits of giving as many people as possible access to broadband. And it is outside cities that government support is most needed.
Agnes Karnatz