Swedish communications regulator PTS has announced the provision of an extra SEK 1.40 billion in funding for broadband in 2021, bringing the total sum available for distribution up to and including 2025 to SEK 2.85 billion. The announcement follows the government's budget proposal for next year.
According to local network association SSNf, the SEK 1.40 billion to be made available in 2021 will be followed by SEK 500 million in 2022 and then SEK 100 million annually from 2023-2025.
PTS director-general Dan Sjoblom said the watchdog will have more money to allocate for broadband expansion nationwide. He referred to the regulator's response to the government’s broadband strategy, in which PTS had said large investments were still required to give every home and business the option to connect to broadband, including state subsidies for areas not served commercially.
The regulator said it will prepare to offer the SEK 1.40 billion in June 2021, using a model that can be scaled up according to the new conditions. It will assess the current subsidy structure and might adjust the model after that. PTS will provide relevant information in future and consult the market and other interested parties before then.
SSNf welcomed the extra funding and said that municipal operators have constructed more than half of Sweden’s broadband infrastructure in both urban and rural locations. The association’s CEO Mikael Ek said that billions more will be needed in the years to come. To make broadband expansion as cost-effective as possible, the sector needs long-term gaurantees that funding will stay at adequate levels.
Ek added that Covid-19 has proven the necessity of universal access to robust and fast internet services, adding that this is a matter of democracy.
