[PLUG] Why Is Connectivity So Cheap In Stockholm?

[Keith Lofstrom]

On Sun, Apr 19, 2009 at 02:25:35PM -0700, Russell Senior wrote:
> 
> http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/18/1739236
> 
> "[...] part of the explanation for the low cost is that the city owns
> a municipal fiber network reaching every block."
> 
> How about them apples?

Perhaps you should look at the numbers for a comparable non-capital
city such as Upsalla, or further out in the countryside, where the
living arrangments approximate our own.  My fourth cousin Dan Lövström
lives in Gimo, Österby Kommun, about 50km east of Upsalla.  His
(very high) tax Kröner go to fund that municipal fiber network in
Stockholm, which is a VERY dense city, everybody lives in 5 story
apartment buildings.  In Gimo, which is about the size and density
of Forest Grove, dialup costs about twice what broadband costs here. 
Dan can't afford it (because of those high taxes he pays), so he uses
the internet connection at work, even though he has a PC at home.

That's not to say that he resents it.  The Swedes invest a lot in
Stockholm, and hope their children can get jobs there.  They have
a king, and still dote on their imperial capital, and gladly make
sacrifices so Stockholm can be a national showpiece.  Besides, Dan
is more interested in soccer on the TV, and if investments are to
be made, he might prefer more power to the TV transmitters in 
Upsalla so his TV picture was less snowy.  

If you really want cheap municipal broadband, the Swedes will let
Americans like you live in Stockholm.  Well, they will if your
business creates jobs and you are willing to pay their taxes. 
It is actually a pretty nice place, if you don't mind eating your
apples (when they are briefly in season) in a small flat up four
flights of stairs.  

Broadband penetration is always much better in densely packed urban
areas than areas with two story detached homes with big lawns and 
wide roads.  If the bureaucrats allocating the taxes live there,
they end up with the best stuff.  There is also good and inexpensive
(privately owned) broadband in Tokyo.  Which is stacked three times
as high as Stockholm.  If we all moved to high rises, with one fiber
to the whole building and cat5 inside to distribute it, we would
have cheap broadband, too.

Keith

-- 
Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com         Voice (503)-520-1993
KLIC --- Keith Lofstrom Integrated Circuits --- "Your Ideas in Silicon"
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