Skanova ADSL broadband in Norrköping, Söderköping and Valdemarsvik

Skanova ADSL broadband in Norrköping, Söderköping and Valdemarsvik More than 80 percent of the households and enterprises in 35 locations in the Swedish municipalities of Norrköping, Söderköping and Valdemarsvik will have access to ADSL broadband service by the end of 2003. Using a fibre optic network and radio links in combination with ADSL up to the user, people living in the city of Norrköping, as well as the residents of the smallest communities in Vikbolandet and the Gryt archipelago, will have the opportunity to participate in the broadband initiative. "Good IT infrastructure is a requirement for growth and development. Communications is important for a modern society. This initiative represents another important step to improve municipal service to the community and to provide better information about municipal services," says Mattias Ottosson, chairman of the Norrköping municipal board/commissioner of Norrköping's local government. Through the agreement with Skanova, the municipalities of Söderköping and Valdemarsvik, which are much smaller than Norrköping, will have a cost-effective solution in which households and companies - even those outside central locations - will gain access to flexible broadband services. Customers will be able to sign agreements for speeds from 0.25 Mbit/s up to 2 Mbit/s and are completely free to choose any of the 12 operators that are currently providing service through Skanova's ADSL network. "This agreement clearly indicates that we are the right supplier for both large cities and small municipalities. The fact that a large city like Norrköping and two small municipalities can choose the same solution, which reaches such a large number of households and companies, shows that ADSL has major advantages over other technologies, " says Susanne Jacobsson, head of Skanova. The build-out of the network is to be finished by December 31, 2003 at the latest, provided that the county administrative board approves the proposed rollout, giving the municipalities the right to apply for a government grant for the investment. The possibility to receive government funding for ADSL has given Swedish municipalities completely different financial possibilities to provide broadband service to a much larger percentage of their residents. "In Valdemarsvik we hope the build-out will have a positive impact and get both people and companies to move to rural areas or the archipelago and set up businesses," comments Torvald Karlsson, chairman of the municipal board in Valdemarsvik. The local government commissioner in Söderköping, Barbro Tjernström, says they chose Skanova for several different and important reasons: "When you review different proposals, it is extremely important to have confidence in the supplier. You have to feel that the project will be delivered within the promised timeframe. Skanova's ADSL solution was the best for a municipality like ours, which has half of its population in the town of Söderköping, and the rest in the countryside and archipelago," she says. After the broadband build-out is finished, the following percentages of households and companies in the three municipalities can sign an agreement for broadband service: Valdemarsvik and Söderköping: 80 percent, Norrköping: 93 percent During 2003 Skanova has signed agreements for similar solutions with the province of Östergötland, with the municipalities of Boden, Överkalix and Kalix in Norrbotten in the north of Sweden, with the municipalities of Stenungsund, Tjörn and Orust in Bohuslän on the west coast, and with Kalmar County in the south east of Sweden. For further information journalists can contact: Charlotte Löfgren, Press Secretary, TeliaSonera Networks & Production, +46 8 713 58 30. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/12/20030512BIT00790/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2003/05/12/20030512BIT00790/wkr0002.pdf