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Government proposal to improve mobile and internet coverage
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March 13th, 2013
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This article is more than 11 years old.
Councils will soon be able to force suppliers to provide better internet connections to communities
Mobile phone and internet coverage are hoped to get a boost from a package of government proposals that will be presented this afternoon by the business and growth minister Annette Vilhelmsen (Socialistisk Folkeparti) and the minister for housing, urban and rural affairs, Carsten Hansen (Socialdemokraterne).
“When I drive around the country, I often hear communities complain that it is hard to run businesses when the internet is unstable,” Vilhelmsen told Politiken newspaper. “What we can do is ensure better conditions for improving coverage and that’s the goal of the broadband bill.”
The government will now allow councils to demand that suppliers bidding for bidding for large contracts must offer reasonable broadband solutions to the communities that they are providing for.
“Many councils have considered using their purchasing power in large calls for tender [to improve broadband speed] but they have been in doubt about whether it was legal,” Vilhelmsen said. “We are now removing the doubt and telling them they can do that.”
Another major change concerns mobile phone masts. According to Politiken, companies that erect phone masts have often experienced that their rent for installing masts on council ground often skyrockets after the initial contract expires.
The government is now proposing new standardised contracts that will provide companies with the security that their rent won’t suddenly jump. The government hopes the extra security will lead companies to instal more masts where mobile signals are weak.
But even if there is mobile phone coverage, the strength of the signal will often depend on what mobile phone you use. So the government wants to start a study looking at variations in mobile phone antennas and push the EU to establish a standardised rating system for mobile phone antennas.
Finally, the government wants to develop an app that can show real-time mobile phone coverage across Denmark. Politiken does not report how the app will work when there is no coverage, however.
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