Public funds for support of the network economy in rural and mountainous regions

In rural and mountainous regions, where the installation of broadband and other technology innovations are considered unprofitable by the private sector, public funds are often the only option to fill in the gap.

Here are some examples of how European funding supported the e-economy and e-government in rural and mountainous areas throughout Europe.

The project Bridge Me in the Kozani mountainous region of Greece installed a high-speed wireless network with a budget of just EUR 350 000. It was promoted by the local authorities and led to connecting all the municipalities and 200 local government bodies in the Kozani region. Based on Wi-Fi and Wi-Max technologies, the network covers wireless links of 472 km, which successfully transfer Voice over IP/video and data in high altitude areas regardless of weather conditions (snow, rain, fog, wind). The project led to the introduction of a whole range of new electronic services, including e-payments, e-voting at local elections, job seeking, “back office” services via the internet, and forest fire prevention).

A project in South West England, initiated in 2010 and costing 137 million Euro, including European funding, is for deployment of super-fast (up to 100 Mb/second) fibre-based connections to 86% of all businesses in the region. 10,000 businesses are expected to benefit from the new network and it will indirectly lead to around 4300 permanent employment opportunities.

In the far North of Sweden, some 3000 km of fibre optic cables were installed with European and government funding of 10 million Euro. The works were entrusted to a public company, owned by the Council and the 14 municipalities in the County and the Local Councillors had to decide on the order of priority for connecting the villages. Once they had been equipped, various Internet service providers took over and the public support was no longer needed. Over 300 villages were connected, creating 60 jobs and three businesses. The project resulted in innovative applications in three specific areas:

- education with all schools in the region connected and having access to a variety of educational opportunities;

- e-health offering services such as post-childbirth check-ups and assistance for new parents and monitoring the quality of healthcare in old people’s homes are offered.

- industrial research and engineering networking - access to broadband has enabled companies like Volvo to remotely test their new vehicles in real time where pilots and test platforms are directly connected to the manufacturer’s laboratories, a thousand kilometres away.

The examples show that government and European funding is essential to lay the grounds for digital inclusion in rural and mountainous areas, and once the infrastructure is deployed, businesses take up the new opportunities with no need of further support.