Best Practices and Strategies for Broadband Deployment - Adoption, Usage, and Global Impact of Broadband Technologies - page 136

Business Models • The Netherlands' model . The case of

Amsterdam: In the case of the Netherlands,
the policies and goals concerning the im-
plementation of broadband technologies
regard also the municipalities of the coun-
try. The most indicative example is the
case of Amsterdam: The Municipality of
Amsterdam opted for fibre optics, consider-
ing that copper and coaxial cables are soon
going to be obsolete. The model selected
consists in the creation of a utility service
in which the Municipality participates with
a 20% percentage, while it owns and ex-
ploits the passive network (fibre optic).
The other sides participating in the Public
Private Partnership (PPP) are private car-
riers and companies. The network's active
part belongs to a private company.
• The case of Catalonia . The LocalRet
(or Local Network for these Catalonian
Municipalities) was formed in 1998 and its
intention is to connect 300 municipalities.
The main concept of LocalRet network is
that the service providers of the network
will be its final operators and among its
major stake holders. LocalRet will design
a homogenous network for all Catalonia,
at least at passive infrastructure level. This
will be open and parallel to Telefonica's
network. LocalRet will start integrating
the small parts of the networks that the
municipalities and Generalitat (govern-
ment) control, as part of their ownership
of railways, highways, streets, and so on.
LocalRet will design Metropolitan Area
Networks (MANs) in every city with more
than 10.000 inhabitants.
• United States (US) . In the US, the cases of
the State of Utah (UTOPIA network) and
the city of Philadelphia are of great interest,
concerning the successful application of
business models for exploiting broadband
metropolitan area networks. In the State of
Utah, eighteen (18) cities have committed

International experience records various business
models (OECD, 2003) on broadband infrastruc-
tures exploitation, and a few indicative ones are
mentioned in the following paragraphs. In general,
significant efforts in Europe can be recorded in
Ireland, Sweden, The Netherlands and Spain. Fur-
thermore, remarkable examples could be recorded
in Canada, New Zealand and United States

• The Irish development model .
Metropolitan networks are designed as
general-purpose networks and not as a
technical solution, at least, for a limited
number of service suppliers. The networks
have been selected and designated by the
local authorities, in the perspective of so-
cial and economic development. The oper-
ation of the metropolitan networks is effec-
tuated centrally, through the establishment
of a specific service that operates and ad-
ministrates the networks. The channel net-
work is planned and constructed so that
it can support both fibre optic and copper
wire infrastructures. In this particular case
the open access model has been adopted.
• The Swedish model . The Stockholm case
(Stokab): Stokab constitutes a business
plan, which is being applied in the wider
region of Stockholm, Sweden, aiming at
the development and operation of fibre
optic communication networks, as well as
at leasing of fibre optic connections. The
Stokab company was established for this
purpose and belongs to the Stockholm
Stadshus AB group, which, in turn, belongs
entirely to the Municipality of Stockholm.
The company was supposed to achieve this
goal by providing the market with network
infrastructures that are going to permit both
operators and different service providers to
offer their services to the end-users.