Internet access

I've written many times in the past about broadband internet access in the archipelago. Looking back, my hopes were high (perhaps too high) that I'd have a 100mb fiber connection by now!

Obviously, that hasn't worked out. A reduction in EU grant money has slowed the rollout. Nämdö, the biggest island in our archipelago, has been installed and is working well. However, there's competition among the smaller islands in the area. We will get there eventually; one year it will be Aspö's turn! 

However, I'm less worried about it than I was, for a couple of reasons. First is the news that Vattenfall, our electric company, is planning to take down the phone poles around the island and instead put the cables on the ground. It makes sense, as a lot of time and energy is spent each year looking for fallen branches. Many of the poles are over 40 years old and will need to be replaced eventually. Putting the cables on the ground will solve both problems. I think it will look nicer too.

Why am I mentioning the power company in a post about broadband, you may ask? The answer is that when the power cables are re-laid, it will be simple (and much cheaper) to add the internet fiber cable to each of these runs. Piggy-backing on the Vattenfall work should relieve me from having to run the fiber to my house myself.

The second reason is my current internet setup with Tre.se is pretty darned good these days. I had my router on all winter, and I was able to peek into the house reliably. The speed is good enough to FaceTime back home, which fits my needs.

Once the fiber is available, I plan to get it for sure. But in the meantime, I'm connected to the internet just fine.