Sweden's muni-fibre adds fresh twist to digital-divide problem

摘要

A scheme to harmonise Sweden's municipal fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network sector has increased competition between service providers, but has yet to bring the prices consumers pay into line. Known as CESAR, it offers a single standard procedure for gaining access to a network, as well as guaranteeing a certain quality for connections (TM, 15 Jan, 2008). On the one hand, this has dramatically increased service competition. According to an Informa Telecoms & Media review of Swedish broadband tariffs, only a handful of municipal operators have a monopoly on providing services to consumers.