Now that the bad news about the sudden recession is all out in the open a lot of plans are put forward to stimulate the economy.
Obama has signed off a stimulus package including approx. 7 billion euros to improve the broadband networks in the USA, especially in rural areas.
Our Dutch unions propose plans requiring 7 billion euros to be spent on infrastructure, energy saving and the lot.
And to my utter surprise: nobody, absolutely nobody in the Netherlands mentions or encourages the 7 billion euros to be injected into the economy by private means.
The upgrade of our communication infrastructure to fiber (Fiber-to-the-Home) has been started by municipalities and entrepeneurs. The regulators (NMa, OPTA) have set the stage for a massive roll-out by Reggefiber (partly owned by KPN) in a manner which is quite unique and an example for other countries. Providing all of the Netherlands with fiber will require some 7 billion euros just for the physical wires. The rest comes on top.
Rolling out fiber-to-the-home is 80 % labour and 20 % materials. Most of the labour has to be local, and the Netherlands is home to several leading manfucaturers of fiber. There is a lot of proof that an improved communication infrastructure has significant multiplier effects in the rest of the economy.
And all this without spending tax-payers money.
Are there losers in this plan? Yes, the cable companies.
But if you look closely you will find that most of the cash generated by these companies is sent out of the country, sometimes even with some extra cash from the tax-authorities (loss compensation). And they have a history of milking the company, not of investing in our economy.
So why is no politician or talkshow proud of this fact?
