Expanded broadband network in Lilla Edet provides wider municipal coverage

After today’s inauguration of Lilla Edet’s municipality-wide broadband network, 97 percent of all households and companies in the municipality now have access to broadband service. The network, provided by TeliaSonera Network Sales, enables transmission speeds from 250 Kbit/s up to 24 Mbit/s.

Eleven telecom switching centres have been upgraded for ADSL connections in different locations around the Municipality of Lilla Edet. ADSL technology utilises copper cable in the existing telephone network and allows a very high broadband penetration rate, even in sparsely populated areas. Switching centres in towns and communities have also been interconnected by a network using fibre optic cable or radio links with very high transmission speeds. Lilla Edet signed an agreement with TeliaSonera at the end of last year to build out the Skanova network, and after today’s inauguration, the network covers 97 percent of the municipality. “We’re very pleased that the network is soon finished. I have great expectations for the potential benefits of this broadband network for Lilla Edet. It will open up completely new opportunities for private persons and enterprises in the municipality. Lilla Edet is taking a giant leap forward and I hope the network will provide 100 percent coverage of the region within a year,” says Bjarne Färjhage, chairman of the executive board for the Municipality of Lilla Edet. Lilla Edet 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 and private persons requiring higher transmission speeds can connect to the fibre optic/radio link network. The build-out is also prepared for future connections with much higher speeds. “The broadband network will provide major advantages, especially for people living in rural areas. We’re pleased that we could offer the region a network with high broadband penetration because we know how important the development of broadband is for the residents and companies in the municipality,” says Monica Björk, acting head of TeliaSonera Network Sales. Over the past few years TeliaSonera Network Sales has signed agreements for building out broadband networks with approximately 80 municipalities in Sweden, of which about 20 in Västra Götaland County.