Billions of kronor have been contributed to Stockholm's economy thanks to its network of superfast fibre internet and innovative IT infrastructure, a report has concluded.

Stokab, the city-owned company providing fibre optic communication networks within the Stockholm region, has generated significant positive benefits to the local economy, the report found. The region has gained some 15 billion kronor ($2.3 billion) in revenues from the model.

"The most important conclusion is that fibre is profitable, both for the users and for society," said Crister Mattsson, senior adviser for the report's authors, Acreo Swedish ICT.

"The City of Stockholm has made great savings, properties connected with fibre have a higher market value and businesses have received significantly lower communication costs."

The study is based on a carrier-neutral fibre network, he pointed out. The positive effects are also the result of healthy competition in the market, leading to lower prices.

Stockholm's advanced infrastructure has made it easy to use cloud services, video conferencing, healthcare, distance learning and smart transport services, the report said.

Search engine giant Google has also praised Stokab, saying in a report that it had help make Stockholm an attractive location for businesses and encouraged innovation.

“Stokab is seen as a model of municipal fiber deployment inasmuch as it was built with virtually no public subsidies, has led to competition in the delivery of telecom services in Stockholm, has driven adoption of superfast broadband services in the city and has helped the City administration reap significant benefits,” it said in a study titled “Stockholm’s Stokab: A Blueprint for Ubiquitous Fiber Connectivity?”

Stokab is owned by the City of Stockholm and provides a passive fibre optic communications network.

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This article was published in collaboration with Stockholm Business Region.

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