You have all weekend! - Unreasonable demands from authorities on new proposals

It often feels like government officials seem to think that companies and organizations are just sitting around waiting for a little reply to public consultation to sink their teeth into. In particular, government officials seem to think that around Christmas and summer holidays, employees of companies and organizations just go looking for something to do. You can hardly argue with that anymore. But I think we've almost reached the limit!

Yesterday, the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority issued a reply to public consultation on a major and important proposal for many stakeholders. The Board's generous deadline was a full 14 days ahead. This is astonishing in itself, but it is not a small proposal either - and it is also a U-turn in relation to previous announcements from the authority.

The proposal for additional coverage requirements in next year's major spectrum auction introduces new technical requirements that stakeholders - regions, municipalities, businesses and other organizations - are now expected to analyze and send insightful comments for the authority to consider. In two weeks. This is not a reasonable way to deal with such important issues. It also seems to be happening more and more often, and it's not just the Post and Telecom Agency that is to blame. During the pandemic, extremely short consultation times were more or less legion, which was criticized by several bodies. Another example is the Swedish Transport Administration's reply to public consultation on the Railway Network Description's deviation notice, and the list goes on. But of course, in this case you also have the weekend.

My Bergdahl
Industrial policy expert