The city of Kurika wants to develop its sparsely populated areas by supporting the construction of their high-speed optical fiber network. Kurikka is the first municipality in South Ostrobothnia to utilize the broadband construction support of the EU's recovery tool. The broadband construction project has been put out to tender in the EP union, and possible fiber optic construction would start in the spring of 2023.
In Kurika, preparations for EU support funding were on time. In the spring of 2021, Kurikka signed up for the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency's Traficom market study, the analysis of which identified the eligible areas. Getting support also requires a municipal contribution, and the city is prepared for that.
- Long-term work has been done for fiber optic connections. We want to enable our residents and businesses to have fast and secure telecommunication connections, as they will become more and more important for households and businesses in the future as business activities, electronic services and remote work increase. Kurikka wants to be a pioneer in this in South Ostrobothnia, comments the mayor of Kurikka Anna-Kaisa Pusa.
Several fiber optic projects have been implemented in Kurika since 2018. In one project, the fiber optic needs of companies and farms were mapped, and in other projects, fiber optic networks have been built in different areas. The degree of availability of optical fiber in Kurika's sparsely populated areas is at the national level, i.e. approx. 50%. Currently, networks are being built in Hirvikylä and Taivalmaa.
For the preparation of the market research carried out in 2021, Kurikka received help from the Leader group's Vauhtia valokikuutun project and from the Broadband Acceleration project of the EP union. In addition, with the help of the Vauhtia valokukuituu project, information sessions on fiber optics were organized in the villages of Kurika, and fiber optic need surveys were used to map the villages' need for fiber optics.
- I see the actions taken in the project as necessary and I want to emphasize that the need for optical fiber in South Ostrobothnia is very widespread. So far, more than 70 fiber optic information events have been held. About 2,600 village residents who responded to fiber optic needs surveys would be ready to join a fiber optic network, says the information network expert of the Vauhtia valokikuutun project Mikko Ojainväli.
With the Vauhtia valokikuuun project, the aim is to make fiber optic available to as many households, farms and companies in Southern Ostrobothnia as possible. The project manager of the project managed by Leader Liiver organizes fiber optic information sessions for village halls and carries out fiber optic needs surveys. The project will end at the beginning of 2023.