Staffan Ingvarsson, who joined the carrier almost four years ago, will be the CEO of Stockholm Business Region from 1 April, supporting investment and tourism in the Swedish capital.
Before joining Stokab, Ingvarsson was deputy city manager of Stockholm. The city set up Stokab in 1994, and it has been seen as a model for other local authorities wanting to provide carrier-neutral infrastructure.
Ingvarsson said: “I look forward to working on creating the best conditions for both the local business community and the international companies, talents and visitors we work to attract to the Stockholm region.”
Stokab has not yet announced his successor. The unit achieved its first notable success in 1996, when the county council connected all its hospitals to the network – reducing the cost of telecoms by an estimated 50% or 60 million kronor (almost €6 million) a year.
Today the network covers most of the inner city district, residential areas, office and business centres, as well as all primary schools, colleges, museums and other municipal activities. The network, which has more than 24,000 connection points, extends to the neighbouring county and islands in the Stockholm archipelago.
In February 2013, the world’s largest fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) project at that time was completed, and almost all apartment blocks in the inner city and outlying areas are now connected to Stokab’s network.
Ingvarsson has been one of the members of a steering group that leads the work of implementing Stockholm's smart city strategy.