Broadband network in Mölndal finished – all residents now have broadband

The build-out of a new broadband network is now finished in the City of Mölndal, located just outside Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden. The network, procured through a municipal purchasing process, and provided by TeliaSonera Network Sales, was officially inaugurated on Tuesday (Feb. 1). The network covers the entire city and residents now have access to broadband service with speeds of up to 8 Mbit/s. Approximately half of Mölndal’s residents can also have speeds up to 24 Mbit/s.

Residents in Mölndal are now free to choose one of the operators that provide broadband services to consumers and companies through the network. Depending on their choice of broadband provider, all households and companies located within a link distance of 2.5 km from a switching centre can have broadband with speeds up to 24 Mbit/s. Those located within a link distance of 3.5 km can have speeds up to 8 Mbit/s. Households and enterprises situated within a link distance of 9 km can have broadband with speeds up to 500 kbit/s. Representatives for the city and TeliaSonera officially inaugurated the network on Tuesday at an information meeting held in Mölndal’s city hall. “It is of great importance and significance to be able to offer all residents and companies access to broadband wherever they live or are located in the City of Mölndal. Broadband is also an important competitive tool in our city’s efforts to profile itself as a knowledge and growth centre. We are also satisfied and pleased that the build-out was completed on schedule, and that we have now reached the goals we set from the start,” says Bengt Odlöw, chairman of the Mölndal municipal executive board. The City of Mölndal signed an agreement with TeliaSonera in June 2004 for the build-out of a municipality-wide broadband network. During the build-out, telecom switching centres in the city were upgraded for ADSL technology, which utilises copper cable in the existing telephone network and allows a very high broadband penetration rate, even in rural areas. “Thanks to ADSL technology, we can offer municipalities and counties in Sweden a fast and cost-effective broadband build-out in which the network also provides service in sparsely populated areas. With our offering, we could provide the City of Mölndal with100 percent coverage, which is naturally very pleasing,” says Susanne Jacobsson, head of TeliaSonera Network Sales. During the past year TeliaSonera has signed agreements to provide broadband networks to more than 75 municipalities in Sweden, of which 19 in Västra Götaland County. _____________________________________________ For further information journalists can contact: TeliaSonera´s Press Office, +46-(0)8-713 58 30