Notes from Stockholm on GITR

One reason the Nordic countries fare so well in the Global information Technology Index rankings is tax deductions for buying computers. According to Erik Kruse, strategic marketing manager at Ericsson, healthy competition between such global (Nordic) firms as Ericsson and Nokia create attractive pricing.

Freenasp Mobedjina, strategic manager of broadband services at TeliaSonera, says that the only way for a mature economy to create productivity is through technology – connecting people so they can work together.

All the Nordic countries placed in the top 10 of the GITR’s Network readiness Index, with Sweden in the number one position. The country’s minister for Information Technology and Energy, Anna-Karin Hatt, says Sweden has made a concerted effort to develop technology usage since the 1980’s (when, she adds, one of the country’s political leaders got into hot water for bringing a GSM phone back home from Hong Kong!) . Since that time, Sweden has entered a period of liberalization in technology and has fostered industrial competition.