Broadband network inaugurated in Municipality of Sigtuna

The broadband network ordered by the Municipality of Sigtuna is now finished. The network, which will provide broadband speeds of up to 8 Mbit/s to the majority of households, was officially inaugurated on Tuesday (Dec. 7). Sigtuna is the first municipality in Stockholm County to use a municipality-wide broadband network.

The broadband network is based on TeliaSonera’s Skanova IP City solution, which utilizes the existing telephone network in combination with a new fibre optic network. The technology allows a high broadband penetration rate, even in sparsely populated areas. In the Municipality of Sigtuna, 98 percent of the local households and companies will have access to the broadband network. The network was officially inaugurated on Tuesday by representatives from the municipality, local businesses and the provider TeliaSonera Network Sales. “As the first in Stockholm County with a municipality-wide broadband network, we’re very pleased that we can now inaugurate our new network, which will be of great significance for the development and growth of our municipality. Households and companies in our municipality have also been wanting and waiting for this network for a long time. Almost everyone in the municipality will have access to broadband, which is especially important for many small companies in rural areas,” says Anders Johansson, commissioner for the Municipality of Sigtuna. All telecom switching centres in the municipality have been upgraded for ADSL. Depending on their choice of broadband provider, all households and companies located within a link distance of 3.5 km from a switching centre will have broadband with speeds up to 8 Mbit/s. Those located within a link distance of 9 km can have broadband with speeds up to 500 Kbit/s. Residents are free to choose one of the 12 operators that will provide broadband services to consumers and companies through the network. “We are looking forward to the new benefits that a broadband connection will give us. For example, we expect to save time when transmitting X-ray pictures, or when searching for the price of pharmaceuticals in the online FASS directory, which can only be done over the Internet today,” says Professor Arne Lindholm, one of Europe’s most experienced veterinarians specializing in horses, at Mälaren Hästklinik. Mälaren Hästklinik is one of Sweden’s leading clinics for race horses and has previously won an award for being the most successful company in the Municipality of Sigtuna. During the past year TeliaSonera has signed agreements to provide Skanova broadband networks to 76 municipalities in Sweden.