Framtidsfabriken Pushes Broadband in Sweden

Swedish heavyweights Framtidsfabriken, Ericsson and Bredbandsbolaget all signed a letter of intent concerning development of local broadband networks in Sweden.

Framtidsfabriken will develop new broadband services for Bredbandsbolaget, and Ericsson will become the main supplier of technology to Bredbandsbolaget. Both will be furthering Bredbandsbolaget’s goal of wiring every household in Sweden with at least a 10 Mbit/s connection.

Per-Olof Sjoberg, Ericsson’s general manager of local communication systems, said that the company welcomes the new type of demands that broadband technology will places on Ericsson as a supplier of products and services, and hopes the new service will help enhance its offering as a system supplier in the evolving market for home-based broadband communications.

This is larger than the cell phone breakthrough, both for Sweden as a nation and for the companies involved, according to Jonas Birgersson, Framtidsfabriken’s CEO. He added that the company expects to offer more access to the technology at a fixed price, which will be priced lower than that of current regular telephone service.

Now Bredbandsbolaget can offer all Swedish households a LAN-Ethernet/Opto-solution that carries at least 10 Mbit/s and is a future-safe network, fully in line with the rapid pace of technical evolution, said Jan Nilsson, Bredbandsbolaget’s CEO.

Framtidsfabriken, Ericsson and Bredbandsbolaget will collaborate on developing the international market for local broadband networks.

Birgersson added that the established network companies are trying to protect their own business, but by charging high prices today, it opens possibilities for new ventures. Broadbandsbolaget wants to explore this position.

Bredbandsbolaget is 20 percent owned by Framtidsfabriken.