County of Västernorrland Sweden Mikael Näsström

Facts 7 municipalities Population Inhabitants/km 2 = 11,2 2 Provinces 74% of the area is Forests

Broadbandcoverage in municipalities 71-95% (100%) Why not 100% coverage?  Still blind spots in coverage.  Low or negative ROI for investments in some rural areas – despite investment support  Lack of demand in some areas.  Technical limitations in some areas – limited number of access points.

ICT-maturity by individuals 70% has access to Internet at home, 29% for those over 65 years. 35% has > 2 Mbps 50% use it more than 6 hours a week 29% have visited a municipality website

ICT-maturity in business Access to Internet 95% 70% of those with access has > 2 Mbps Selling over Internet 42% 65% purchase products over Internet 69% have made online payments Only 24% with CRM-databases

Now it´s time to Make use of the ICT-infrastructure for regional growth in rural areas and take advantage of the opportunities ICT offers. Develop the co-operation over organizational boundaries. Find out models for how to transform the organisations by using modern ICT- tools. Create attractive regions where services meets the demands from companies and citizens.

An attractive rural lifestyle with good ICT-access and modern transport infrastructure.