During the last six months or so, there’s been quite a bit of discussion in Norwegian media about the need for higher and higher broadband speeds and the use of fiber access networks in particular. Telecom pundits have made a number of different arguments, but the main ones are something like this:
- You’re never going to need more than 4 Mbit/s (or so) so there’s really no point in building fiber network.
- You’re never going to need more than whatever LTE can offer because mobile networks are the future.
- You’re going to need more and more capacity so you might as well build fiber-based networks.
Well. It turns out there are quite a few areas in rural Norway that built fiber networks many years ago. So we went to talk to them. During January and February we conducted in-depth interviews with fiber operators, public officials and end users in six rural counties. Here’s what they told us:
1. Fiber networks make a big difference for private enterprise and employment
- Fiber networks are mission critical for businesses that transfer large amounts of data (such as pics and video) to customers and partners.
- Access to fibernets is an important driver for the establishment of knowledge-intense companies with well-paid and interesting jobs.
- Fibernets make videoconferencing easier and more reliable. This is especially important in rural areas where the distance to customers and partners is high.
2. Fiber networks increase quality of life in rural areas
- Fibernets help create more attractive communities. A number of rural areas struggle with an aging population. Fibernets make it easier for young people to move back home after getting their degrees.
- Fibernets improves Internet speeds and TV-offerings. This is especially important for younger people.
- For people with knowledge jobs, access to fiber make it easier to have a home office. (And yes, for many people a regular broadband connection will suffice, but keep in mind that in rural areas a “regular” broadband connection is usually quite a bit slower than in urban areas.)
- Fibernets are future-proof, meaning that people in rural areas can access future services that are likely to be video-based, such as eHealth and eEducation. A good example is Bykle county in a mountainous part of South Norway. It is home to a large downhill ski center. Every year, a number of skiers fall and hurt themselves. In order to figure out whether a bone is broken or not, you need to take an X-ray. Before fiber, the skier was sent to the nearest hospital some three hours away in Kristiansand. Very costly and time-consuming. After fiber, the county installed an X-ray machine and had the X-rays transferred to the hospital for analysis using the fiber network. Very smart.
3. Fiber networks improve public administration.
Rural counties tend to have a small population. By linking counties with fiber networks, it is possible to gain economies of scale. For example, three counties in East Norway (Numedal) merged their accounts departments and reduced the headcount by 30%. By creating professional networks across counties, public employees can specialize which makes it easier to attract high-caliber employees.
Readers who know Norwegian can access the whole report here.
Tags: Fiber access