Mobile operator 3 Sweden is urging the government to draw up a telecoms market strategy, saying subsidies for fixed broadband have been much greater then state spending on mobile networks. Citing a report by A-focus, Tre said the national market is much more competitive than those in neighbouring countries, saving Swedish consumers about SEK 6 billion annually. Tre said this is because the state and regulator PTS were deeply involved in improving the market at the time of the 3G auction 20 years ago, whereas interests are more divided nowadays.
The report was published this week at a Tre seminar with the attendance of Minister of Digitisation Anders Ygeman and Catarina Wretman, acting head of PTS. The report is headed "Time for a new telecoms strategy? On competition, the long-term view and the role of the state in the telecoms market".
Tre CEO Haval van Drumpt said Sweden needs both fixed and mobile connectivity nationwide. He said Sweden has an ambitious broadband strategy but this focuses almost exclusively on fixed line connections. Since the turn of the millennium, the state has contributed about SEK 20 billion in subsidies for fibre expansion, but it has spent only SEK 600 million on mobile network development. Tre wonders how much responsibility the government will take for nationwide 5G coverage.
