Alingsås gets its much-demanded broadband build-out

The build-out of a new municipality-wide broadband network is now finished in Alingsås, in central Sweden. The network provides broadband access to 99.5 percent of all households and companies in the municipality. Transmission speeds in the new broadband network, which was delivered by TeliaSonera Sweden, range from 250 Kbit/s to 24 Mbit/s.

In June 2004, the Municipality of Alingsås signed an agreement with TeliaSonera Sweden for the build-out of a Skanova network. The build-out is now finished, and on Thursday (Oct. 20), Elver Jonsson, chairman of the municipal executive board, and the municipality’s IT manager, Göran Westerlund, officially dedicated the expanded network. Representatives from the local business community and TeliaSonera Sweden were also on location for the inauguration ceremony. “I have noticed how the residents of Alingsås have had a growing need for broadband over the past few years and now we can finally offer them a municipality-wide network. The build-out and higher transmission capacity of the network will be extremely important for our competitiveness as a municipality,” says Elver Jonsson, chairman of the executive board for the Municipality of Alingsås. The Municipality of Alingsås has chosen an open network solution in which households and companies in the municipality are free to choose one of the broadband service providers that have agreements with Skanova. Depending on their choice of provider and distance from a switching centre, households can order a broadband connection with speeds ranging from 250 Kbit/s to 24 Mbit/s. Companies requiring higher transmission speeds can also connect to a fibre optic/radio link network through their operator. The build-out is also prepared for future connections with much higher speeds. The Municipality of Alingsås has launched an initiative to establish a “digital schoolyard", in which the broadband network will be extremely useful for teachers, students and parents. After Thursday’s inauguration, the digital schoolyard concept can now be further developed. “Now that broadband is available throughout the municipality, access to common systems that we are already working with at school, such as e-mail and the intranet, will become even more valuable. The broadband build-out is completely in line with our initiative to build our digital schoolyard, which is intended to facilitate communications between homes and schools in the municipality,” says Monica Esborn, IT teacher and co-ordinator. Over the past few years TeliaSonera Sweden has signed agreements for building out broadband networks with approximately 80 municipalities in Sweden.