Tobias Ahl - Rala - Sweden Rural & Municipality Broadband

Tobias Ahl, CEO, Rala NGN ABINCA London, November 2013

Sweden Rural (and municipality) broadband


A short time line

1993 Televerket privatized to Telia (Today TeliaSonera)

1994 STOKAB and other municipality owned telecom (infrastructure) companies were founded

1997 One of several changes in regulation aims to require fair and resonable costs for transport of traffic in networks

2001 Rala works with Pajala and 100 homes rural – a DIY rural project

2010 Telia starts to shut down the copper network

2013 SSnF includes 146 municipality networks present in 180 municipalities

1984British Telecom privatized


Driving forces

Competition – In 1998 when the then left wing government started grants system, one important argument was to actively create competition to the incumbent! Both on infrastructure and operations as well as services level.

Part of the world – wherever your municipality, home or company is situated

“We do not want to wait”

Offers from the incumbent made it viable with very short pay back time to build your own fibre routes. This drove municipalities to build fibre networks in order to connect schools and administration.

Last three years – market drives deployment. Swedes can’t wait anymore! There’s a market dominance race going on.


33

The Swedish Bredband storyIn many places The rural has more fibre than urban areas

In 2001

Pajala

3,137.07 sq mi

Below 6400 inhabitants (2010)

That’s a staggering 2 per sq mi

Rala piloted fibre there in 2001

Jukkasjärvi is a neighbour village with about 540 citizens

Installed Rala fibre systems in 2002Rala designed, delivered and supported it’s first rural community

broadband in 2001.

They had 100/100 mbit at that time and by now even more if they so choose.


How?

Local ownership of infrastructure

• Municipalities or ALMO’s (Utilities companies)

• Housing associations

• Some private initiatives

A lot of Semi-DIY and variations to keep installation costs down

Grant systems of various sorts (Swedish and European)


Status today

Latest evaluation and suggestions to improve effectiveness of grant systems came in may 2013

• Swedish digital agenda, target 2020: 90 percent should have access to at least 100 mbit

• EU: 2020 everyone(?) should have access to 30 mbit

• Sweden 2013: about 53 percent can have 100 mbit or more – about ¼ of them do also subscribe to it.

• Sweden 2013: and we buy it and use it

“Most indications are that the importance of ultra fast broadband aren’t underestimated.”


Rural deployed projectsOne long term grant system

Specific grant for placing ducts.

Decided by the government.

Channeled thru regional authorities as well as municipalities.

Granted if no market driven deployment is to be expected within 3 years.

Need to be an alternative network owner (not incumbent) for a period of at least 5 years.

Max 50 percent of cost – effectively about 27 percent.

Accumulated figures.

2008/12/01 2010/01/01 2011/02/01 2012/03/01 2013/04/010

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

-

20 000

40 000

60 000

80 000

100 000

120 000

140 000

Number of brojects Subsidy granted [kkr]


Issues?

Not all infrastructure owners allow for fair and non-discriminating access to the infrastructure they own (local loop unbundling if you like) by operators.

A fair amount of low quality deployments. Grants should have quality evaluations before paid out but it’s been hard in practice.

Open comes with many colors. Now the term is very hard to actually define.

In infrastructure – 10 years is nothing. Now some municipality networks are hunted by their own doings.

Small scale prooves difficult in telecoms.



Thank [email protected]

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Tobias Ahl - Rala - Sweden Rural & Municipality Broadband

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