ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Infrastructure card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 39 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaPlaces & infrastructure
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Places & infrastructure

Infrastructure

Internet, roads, electricity & sewers

Electricity in the socket, water in the tap and fibre in the wall: three networks your everyday life hangs on, with three different responsible authorities. The municipality owns the water, central government owns the backbone of the electricity grid, and the broadband is built by a mix of city networks, companies and village associations.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · water, sewage & digging permits · approx 30 %
  • Region · broadband coordination · approx 5 %
  • State · transmission grid, rules & support · approx 45 %
  • EU · energy & digital targets · approx 20 %

Central government weighs heaviest through rules, the transmission grid and billions in support, but the water bill and the digging permits are municipal. The EU's energy and digital policy steers more and more.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityThe water & the land
The regionThe coordinator
Central governmentThe backbone · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige), the technical committee and municipal water and city network companies.
The region, often through a regional broadband coordinator.
The Riksdag, Svenska kraftnät, the Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) and the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS).
What do they decide?
Water and sewage under the water services act, the water charge, digging permits and often a city network of its own for fibre.
Coordinates the broadband rollout and weighs the networks into the regional development strategy.
The transmission grid for electricity, the supervision of the grid companies, the broadband support and the rules for post and telecom.
Where are decisions made?
In the technical committee and the council. The water charge is decided by the council.
In the regional development committee.
In the Riksdag and at the agencies. Large grid investments are planned by Svenska kraftnät.
Who pays?
The water charge, not the tax: the fees are to cover the costs.
Small amounts: coordination rather than networks.
The central government budget and the grid fees: the transmission grid, preparedness and broadband support via PTS.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Views on the water charge and expansion plans, a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag).
Regional election Views via the development strategy's consultation (samråd).
General election A referral response (remissvar) on energy and digitalisation policy.
EUThe EU sets energy targets, electricity market rules and digital targets that steer the Swedish investments. The European Parliament election affects the networks more than many think.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case The fibre reaches the village
  1. EU

    Digital targets and state aid rules

    The EU's digital targets and state aid rules decide where public money may support broadband rollout: only where the market does not build on its own.

  2. State

    PTS allocates the support billions

    The Riksdag sets aside broadband support and PTS points out which areas can apply. Sparse villages where the maths does not add up end up at the top.

    Point of influence

    The general election shapes the size of the support. PTS's mapping of broadband coverage is open, check your address.

  3. Region

    The region sets priorities

    The regional broadband coordinator gathers municipalities and network builders and weighs which areas should be proposed for support.

  4. Municipality

    Digging permits and city network

    The municipality grants digging permits in its streets and often owns a city network that lays the fibre. The timetable is affected by how quickly the municipality handles the permits.

    Point of influence

    Ask the municipality about the rollout plan, submit a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) if your village is missing from it.

  5. Municipality

    The village association digs the last stretch

    In many villages the neighbours form a fibre association that gathers connections and digs on their own land. Without local organising there is often no network.

    Point of influence

    Join or start the fibre association. It is the area's fastest route to a network.

  6. Your everyday life

    A connected village

    The video meeting from home, the medical record online and the safety alarm that needs a connection now work for you too. The network was built by politics, support money and neighbours in association.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Should everyone have the right to fast broadband regardless of where they live, even if it costs more per household?

  2. What in your everyday life stops working if the electricity or the network is down for a day?

  3. The water charge differs sharply between municipalities. What would a fair pricing of the water be?

  4. Who should own the networks: the public sector, the companies or the users themselves?

  5. How vulnerable is your area to outages, and who holds the responsibility for preparedness?

Glossary

Vattentjänstlagen
The law that gives the municipality responsibility for water and sewage in built-up areas.
VA-taxa
The fee for water and sewage. Decided by the municipal council and meant to cover the costs.
Stamnät
Electricity's motorways across the country, run by the state-owned Svenska kraftnät.
Stadsnät
Often a municipally owned fibre network, open to different service providers.
Fiberförening
Association where neighbours join together to build broadband in the countryside.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.