BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
Issue link: https://bbcmag.epubxp.com/i/232134
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Cornwall Businesses Grow With Broadband BT's new fber network in Cornwall – a combination of fber to the node and fber to the home – has now passed 206,000 homes and businesses, or 82 per cent of the area, making Cornwall one of the best-connected areas in Britain and the best-connected rural region in Europe. New research by SERIO at Plymouth University and Buckman Associates shows the network is already providing a major economic boost to small and mid-sized businesses in the region. After 12 months, 83 per cent of SMBs were saving time and money because of the faster speeds and innovative services that fber broadband enables. Nearly six of 10 SMBs surveyed said their businesses were growing because of the new technology, and more than a quarter either created or retained jobs as a direct result. More than one-third of businesses completing the survey reported that superfast broadband had helped their business generate new sales, with a quarter of that group pointing to new trade overseas. Adrian Dawson, head of projects and partnerships at Plymouth University, said, "What's important is not just having the infrastructure but knowing how to get the most from it, and we work with a lot of Cornish companies harnessing the power of broadband to drive growth and create jobs." One of those companies is the media and arts business Genius Loci, whose owner, Sue Aston, said, "Now I run teaching classes over Skype with students from around the globe. I have students in America, Japan [and] Italy and even a lady who lives on a boat in the Mediterranean. It is just as efective as a face-to-face teaching session, and it has opened up the whole world as a potential market. I can continue to develop the business internationally without any additional costs involved." Sweden Puts the Fiber in Innovation By Karin Ahl / President, FTTH Council Europe When it comes to innovation, Sweden punches above its weight. Sweden was ranked as the most innovative country in Europe in September 2013, using a new benchmark created by the European Commission. Te "indicator of innovation output" measures the extent to which innovative ideas from several key industry segments – such as the environment, energy, ICT, health and high-technology industries – are able to reach the market. In keeping with its reputation for being innovative, Sweden was one of the frst countries to deploy FTTH networks. Today, more than 22 percent of households in the country have direct connections to fber networks (Lithuania is the only European country with greater FTTH penetration). An early start in digital communications combined with a wide Fiber-wired Sweden punches above its weight. 106 range of open-access models – where an infrastructure provider grants access to all service providers on equal terms – laid the foundations for a vibrant and competitive broadband market. In Sweden, we fnd plenty of concrete examples of FTTH-enabled innovation developed either in Stockholm or in other regions where FTTH is available. Commercial streaming music service Spotify started at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and today has more than 6 million active users. Magine, the streaming TV service that is often described as Spotify for TV, gained well over 500,000 subscribers in Sweden in under a year since its launch in November 2012. Te founder of Giraf Technologies, who created a telepresence robot to help the elderly in their homes, packed his bags and moved his company to the Swedish city of Västerås in 2009. Both Stockholm and Västerås built citywide fber networks in the early 2000s and have since connected the majority of households directly to fber. It's not just about communications networks, of course. Giraf also wanted to be close to its target market – a | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com country with a well-established social care system where looking after the elderly was a priority. Te startup culture in science parks is also an important catalyst for innovation. Science parks are not unique to Sweden, but they are a strong feature of many universities. Incubators provide premises, mentoring and access to funding, making it easier to start a business. Science parks quite literally "suck in" startups from nearby regions, even from other countries, and the pull is especially strong in areas with good communications, such as Stockholm, Linköping and Malmö. Perhaps the best-known Swedish startup is Skype, the Internet telephony service that was sold to eBay for $2.6 billion in 2005, then to Microsoft for $8.1 billion in 2011. Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström cofounded the company with Danish colleague Janus Friis and a small team of computer developers from Estonia. Te company's story is about bringing together talented people with the resources they need – and for a startup whose product doesn't exist without broadband, good communications are a given. v | NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013