Govt to prepare high-speed broadband strategy

The Ministry of Transport and Communications will start preparing a national broadband strategy to define the country’s broadband targets for the years 2025 and 2030 and the means to achieve them.

The strategy will be technology neutral, which means, it will be promoting the installation of both optical fibre connections and wireless broadband connections, said a government press release.

“Reliable high-speed connections are already a necessity in our daily lives and business operations now. In future, our capacity needs will grow exponentially as a result of the rapid increase in digital business operations, digital public services, and recreational activities. The strategy will be designed to meet the needs of those using high-speed connections in the future,” said Transport and Communications Minister Anne Berner.

Targets for the coverage and speed of broadband connections will be included in the strategy to meet the EU broadband targets too.

The EU has proposed that by 2025 all European households should have access to networks offering a download speed of at least 100 Mbps, which can be upgraded to 1 Gbps.

Sweden has an even more ambitious target: 98 per cent of the population will have access to a download speed of 1 Gbps by 2025.

“The targets for the coverage and speed of broadband connections will be defined based on the needs of clients and users. It is therefore important to first evaluate what levels of download speed our future needs require,” said Berner.

The broadband strategy will also define the measures for reaching the speed and availability targets. Measures to promote the introduction of fast-speed connections should also be considered.

The strategy will also discuss the necessary spectrum policy measures for the deployment of 5G. A central measure in the strategy will be promotion of building optical fibre networks.

The strategy will be prepared in broad cooperation with the sector. Close discussions with stakeholders will start in the autumn.