Flexibility crucial for new EU rules to have their intended impact
The new Gigabit Infrastructure Act aims to facilitate the rollout of high-capacity networks such as fiber and 5G. Detailed legislation without the necessary flexibility instead risks creating additional costs and delaying the rollout. For the Swedish broadband rollout, it is therefore important that the negotiations in Brussels land in a solution that provides room to build on and improve the systems and processes that are established.
Good opportunities to use existing infrastructure, coordination of construction work and simple licensing are crucial for the efficient rollout of networks with high transmission capacity. Being able to co-locate fiber networks with other infrastructure can be crucial for a fiber project in rural areas and the deployment of 5G is entirely dependent on property owners providing good conditions for the establishment of masts and antennas.
Sweden has modern networks at the forefront of Europe. Along the way, significant resources have been invested in developing and improving systems and processes that facilitate the expansion of infrastructure throughout the country. Much of the work has been done in collaboration between the public sector and the market to find solutions that work in practice. One example is ledningskollen.se, which can save both time and money when expanding broadband and at the same time reduce the risk of excavations.
Legislation with overly detailed requirements for specific solutions risks making it difficult to continue working with existing systems and processes. This would lead to both additional costs and risk slowing down the roll-out of new infrastructure. This is completely contrary to the purpose of the bill. It is therefore important that the new law is designed to provide sufficient flexibility in its application. It can then become a tool in the work to improve existing processes and systems for a more efficient expansion, which is crucial for a digital Sweden at the forefront.
Robert Liljeström
Industrial policy expert