Telecommunications in Sweden

Last updated

This article covers telecommunications in Sweden .

Telecommunications

Sweden liberalized its telecommunications industry starting in 1980s and being formally liberalized in 1993. [1] This was three years ahead of USA and five years before the European common policy introduced in January 1998 allowed for an open and competitive telecommunication market. [1] The Swedes, most of who are computer literate, enjoy a continuous growth in the Internet market and the availability of technologies such as Metro Ethernet, fiber, satellite, WAN access technologies and even the availability of 3G services. Statistically, 6.447 (2004) million telephone main lines are in use, 8.0436 (2005) million mobile cellular telephones are in use [2] and 6.7 million Swedes are regular internet users.

Contents

This abundance of telecommunication technology is a result of promoting a competitive industry that was made possible by deregulation. Since Sweden was the first to take on this arduous task the government had to come up with "a regulatory framework of its own". [1] The processes that went about resulting in the liberalization of the telecommunications' industry can be structured into three phases: "Phase 1 of monopoly to Phase 2 with a mix of monopoly and competition to a "mature" Phase 3 with extensive competition". [1]

Phase 1
  1. Started in 1980 with a parliamentary decision to open the market for terminals attached to the public network. Previously Televerket, a dominant telephone company in Sweden had sole right to attach equipment to the public network. [1]
  2. Televerket creates a subsidiary called the Swedish Telecom International in 1989 to compete for international customers. [1]
  3. Telia asks the government to become a limited liability company in 1990 and the government transforms Televerket into a public company by selling some shares. In fact, in 1987 the Director General of Televerket in his speech stated that he wanted the liberalization process to be completed. [1]
  4. This initiative brings about the Telecommunication act effective on 1 July 1993 which was the first significant liberalization effect. The most important reason behind it was, "paradoxically, the efficiency of the national operator". [1] The operator being Televerket. "In 1993 the new company Telia AB was formed and a new Telecommunications Act was launched". [1]
  5. At this point the government has an indirect control over the company, wants to promote market competition, and does not want to hinder the support "for Televerket’s growth strategies". [1]
  6. Televerket moves from just being a national operator to also being the national regulation body till 1992. Basically having a monopoly control by the blessing of the state.
Phase 2

[1]

  1. The emphasis is on the local loop also known as the "last mile". The aim is to introduce competition gradually but maintain some monopoly to deter entry into the market.
  2. Telia AB was not required to undergo a horizontal split. "It was and is the largest provider of both cable TV and mobile telecommunication". [1]
  3. Several instances prevail to break up the company but that state does not approve. It continued to keep the company as a parastatal, and the incumbent continued to maintain a monopoly in the market.
  4. The main area of concern during Phase 2 is the issue of interconnection. Before the Telecommunications Act of 1993, the parastatal, could dictate its own terms, but after 1993, Telia was told to negotiate with companies seeking interconnection.
Phase 3

During the period of 1993-2000 there is rise in competition with legislation of the regulatory body being changed several times. In the case of the POTS, Telia in 2000 still held monopoly in the fixed-line access market. [1] Whereas, mobile phone and Internet penetration in the household market ended up being one of the highest in the world with more than 50 percent of the revenue coming from these two industries. There were three major organizations providing GSM services and 120 internet service providers. [1] One of the major causes that lead competitions thrive in areas that did not have a history of monopoly was the light handed approach taken towards the interconnection issue by the regulatory body initially. Telia held very high interconnection charges, making it very difficult for new entrants to enter. But what it did do was push the new entrants to enter other markets. Tele2 did just that by taking out a massive marketing campaign to attract a huge number of customers to its internet access service. This campaign was successful enough to bring back Telia to the negotiation table over the interconnection issue . [1] This process eventually lead to the abolition of the light handed regulatory approach towards interconnection and put more power in the hands of the regulatory body. The intensity of regulation kept increasing around 1999 in areas other than POTS, especially the mobile market.

Telephones

Radio

Television

Internet

Signals intelligence

In 2009, the Riksdag passed new legislation regulating the National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA), enabling them to collect information from both wireless and cable bound signals passing the Swedish border. Since most communications in Sweden pass through its borders at one point or another,[ citation needed ] this monitoring in practice affects most traffic within Sweden as well.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

The telecommunications and postal services market in Greece is regulated by the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT).

Mass media in Mexico Overview of mass media in Mexico

Mass media in Mexico are regulated by the Secretariat of Communication and Transportation, a federal executive cabinet ministry and by the Federal Telecommunications Institute.

Oman Telecommunication Company (Omantel) has a monopoly in the landline telephone and internet access markets. Its arm Omanmobile offers mobile services. The Omani government owns 70% of Omantel after 30% was listed for the public in 2005. In 2005 Qatar Telecommunication Company (Qtel) and partners were awarded the second license to offer mobile services in the country under the brand of Nawras, which is now rebranded as Ooredoo. Oman now has 5 mobile networks offering internet. The networks providing 4G coverage are Oman mobile, Ooredoo, [./Http://www.rennamobile.com/ Renna], RedBull Mobile and Friendi.

Telecommunications in Poland include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Telecommunications in Pakistan describes the overall environment for the mobile telecommunications, telephone, and Internet markets in Pakistan.

Telecommunications in Peru include radio and television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Telecommunications in the Philippines are well-developed due to the presence of modern infrastructure facilities. The industry was deregulated in 1995 when President Fidel Ramos signed Republic Act 7925. This law opened the sector to more private players and improved the provision of telecom services are better and fairer rates, leading to the creation of many telecommunication service providers for mobile, fixed-line, Internet and other services.

Telecommunications in Sri Lanka commenced in 1858 after the first telegraphic circuit between Colombo and Galle was commenced. The sector continues to grow in the modern times.

Telia Company Swedish multinational telecommunication provider

Telia Company AB is a Swedish multinational telecommunications company and mobile network operator present in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

Telecommunications in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is under the control and supervision of the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority which was established under UAE Federal Law by Decree No. 3 of 2003. From 1976 to 2006 the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) was the sole telephone and telecommunications provider for the UAE. And while there were exceptions for free zones and modern housing developments, for the majority of the UAE, Etisalat held a monopoly on business and personal telecommunications services. In February 2006, this monopoly became a duopoly when a new telephone company and Internet service provider (ISP), du, was established to offer mobile services across the UAE and Internet and TV services to some free zone areas. However, due to geographical distribution of service areas, the companies do not compete for customers and thus effectively operate as monopolies. Earlier du provided triple play services to free zone areas under the name Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), which is still its legal name.

Portugal has a modern and flexible telecommunications market and a wide range of varied media organisations. The regulatory body overseeing communications is called ANACOM.

The liberalisation of Bangladesh's telecommunications sector began with small steps in 1989 with the issuance of a licence to a private operator for the provision of inter alia cellular mobile services to compete with Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB), the previous monopoly provider of telecommunications services within Bangladesh. Significant changes in the number of fixed and mobile services deployed in Bangladesh occurred in the late 1990s and the number of services in operation have subsequently grown exponentially in the past five years.

Communications in Barbados refers to the telephony, internet, postal, radio, and television systems of Barbados. Barbados has long been an informational and communications centre in the Caribbean region. Electricity coverage throughout Barbados is good and reliable. Usage is high and provided by a service monopoly, Barbados Light & Power Company Ltd..

Telenor Telecommunications company of Norway

Telenor ASA is a Norwegian majority state-owned multinational telecommunications company headquartered at Fornebu in Bærum, close to Oslo. It is one of the world's largest mobile telecommunications companies with operations worldwide, but focused in Scandinavia and Asia. It has extensive broadband and TV distribution operations in four Nordic countries, and a 10-year-old research and business line for Machine-to-Machine technology. Telenor owns networks in 8 countries.

Telecommunications Act of 1996 1996 U.S. legislation overhauling telecommunications regulations and laws

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first significant overhaul of United States telecommunications law in more than sixty years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. The Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, represented a major change in American telecommunication law, since it was the first time that the Internet was included in broadcasting and spectrum allotment.

Telecommunications policy of the United States

The Telecommunications policy in the US is a framework of law directed by government and the Regulatory Commissions, most notably the Federal Communications Commission. Two landmark acts prevail today, the Communications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The latter was intended to revise the first act and specifically to foster competition in the telecommunications industry.

Televerket (Sweden)

Televerket was a Swedish State authority acting as a state-owned corporation, responsible for telecommunications in Sweden from 1853 until 1993. Originally it was named Kongl. Elektriska Telegraf-Werket, which was founded in 1853. Its name changed to Kongl. Telegrafverket in 1871, Kungl. Telegrafverket in 1903, the prefix Kungl. was dropped in 1946 and the name was further modernised to Televerket in 1953. Televerket continued on with its telecommunications monopoly until corporatisation in 1993, when it was renamed Telia, now part of Telia Company.

Telecommunications in Angola include telephone, radio, television, and the Internet. The government controls all broadcast media with a nationwide reach.

Telecommunications in Taiwan comprise the following communication media, deployed in the Taiwan Area of the Republic of China and regulated by the National Communications Commission of the Executive Yuan.

Comviq is since 2009 a Swedish prepaid and postpaid mobile phone flanker brand, fully owned by Tele2. The original Comvik operation is the predecessor to two listed companies: Tele2 and Millicom.

References

Notes
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Swedish Economic Policy Review 9 (2002) 133-161. Telecommunications liberlaisation in Sweden: Is "intermediate regulation viable?. Lars Hultkrantz. 2002. Available online in pdf format Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 22 February 2007.
  2. ↑ "Sweden" . Retrieved 14 February 2007.
  3. ↑ "Internet host count history". Internet Systems Consortium. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012" Archived 29 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine , Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
  5. ↑ "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
Bibliography
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.