Stångåstaden kickbacks and hidden rent: Difference between revisions
CrookedBadge (talk | contribs) word correction |
CrookedBadge (talk | contribs) Changed the incident title, added references in few more places. |
||
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
==Background== | ==Background== | ||
Stångåstaden has ownership of the fiber infrastructure in their real estate, which they rent out to network management service companies, who in turn charge ISPs for access to use the fiber network to provide internet for their customers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-13 |title=Bahnhof |url=https://bahnhof.se/2025/05/13/del-2-dolda-hyror/}}</ref> | Stångåstaden has ownership of the fiber infrastructure in their real estate, which they rent out to network management service companies, who in turn charge ISPs for access to use the fiber network to provide internet for their customers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-13 |title=Bahnhof |url=https://bahnhof.se/2025/05/13/del-2-dolda-hyror/}}</ref> | ||
== | ==Switching net management service based on the highest "net rent"== | ||
In 2025 Stångåstaden has, through a public procurement, switched the network management service provider. The winner for of the public procurement was the company Telia (under the brand "Zitius"). The reason behind Stångåstaden choosing Zitius was because Zitius was willing to pay the highest amount of net rent (kickbacks) to Stångåstaden. In the public procurement offer the factor of net rent amount, far outweighed any other factors such as quality of service. The amount paid as the net rent (kickbacks) was not disclosed, but was estimated to 100-150SEK per unit per month which totals up to somewhere between 16.8 and 25.2 millions SEK per year. As a result the monthly fee charged to the ISPs increased by 160SEK per month, which in turn was passed down to their customers, making it a hidden rent cost that would be blamed on the ISPs rather than on Stångåstaden, and that would also bypass any regulations regarding rent costs of public housing. <ref name=":0" /> | In 2025 Stångåstaden has, through a public procurement, switched the network management service provider. The winner for of the public procurement was the company Telia (under the brand "Zitius"). The reason behind Stångåstaden choosing Zitius was because Zitius was willing to pay the highest amount of net rent (kickbacks) to Stångåstaden. In the public procurement offer the factor of net rent amount, far outweighed any other factors such as quality of service. The amount paid as the net rent (kickbacks) was not disclosed, but was estimated to 100-150SEK per unit per month which totals up to somewhere between 16.8 and 25.2 millions SEK per year. As a result the monthly fee charged to the ISPs increased by 160SEK per month, which in turn was passed down to their customers, making it a hidden rent cost that would be blamed on the ISPs rather than on Stångåstaden, and that would also bypass any regulations regarding rent costs of public housing. <ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> | ||
When the ISP company Bahnhof increased the cost of fiber internet for their customers they were transparent, and explained in an e-mail to affected customers, the reason for the increased monthly cost, mentioning the the new deal Stångåstaden has made with Zitius. <ref name=":0" /> | When the ISP company Bahnhof increased the cost of fiber internet for their customers they were transparent, and explained in an e-mail to affected customers, the reason for the increased monthly cost, mentioning the the new deal Stångåstaden has made with Zitius. <ref name=":0" /> | ||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
Stångåstaden has reacted by threatening Bahnhoff with legal actions, unless Bahnhoff would send out a correction letter composed by Stångåstaden, which Bahnhof refused to do. <ref name=":0" /> | Stångåstaden has reacted by threatening Bahnhoff with legal actions, unless Bahnhoff would send out a correction letter composed by Stångåstaden, which Bahnhof refused to do. <ref name=":0" /> | ||
===Stångåstaden's response=== | ===Stångåstaden's response=== | ||
When Fredrik Törnqvist, CEO at Stångåstaden was interviewed by [https://www.corren.se Corren], he claimed that the reason for the legal threats was that the mail from Bahnhof to their customers made it seem like Stångåstaden was doing something illegal. After some pressure, Fredrik conceded that the fees could be seen as a form of a hidden rent, since this net rent is a big deal of the companies economy and thanks to it they did not need to increase the advertised rent. He then fell back on the claim that Stångåstaden did nothing illegal. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-07 |title=Corren |url=https://www.corren.se/nyheter/linkoping/artikel/hard-kritik-mot-stangastaden-efter-hojda-avgiften-forjavligt/rk3nm0zl}}</ref> | When Fredrik Törnqvist, CEO at Stångåstaden was interviewed by [https://www.corren.se Corren], he claimed that the reason for the legal threats was that the mail from Bahnhof to their customers made it seem like Stångåstaden was doing something illegal. After some pressure, Fredrik conceded that the fees could be seen as a form of a hidden rent, since this net rent is a big deal of the companies economy and thanks to it they did not need to increase the advertised rent. He then fell back on the claim that Stångåstaden did nothing illegal. <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2025-05-07 |title=Corren |url=https://www.corren.se/nyheter/linkoping/artikel/hard-kritik-mot-stangastaden-efter-hojda-avgiften-forjavligt/rk3nm0zl}}</ref> | ||
==Fallout== | ==Fallout== | ||
This incident highlighted a problem that despite internet being almost a necessity nowadays and not a luxury, the providers are not regulated the same way as providers of other necessities (such as electricity or water) are. | This incident highlighted a problem that despite internet being almost a necessity nowadays and not a luxury, the providers are not regulated the same way as providers of other necessities (such as electricity or water) are. According to the Tenant`s association, tenants in public housings in Sweden pay much higher price for the Internet compared to home owners.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2024-12-16 |title=The Tennant`s association |url=https://www.hyresgastforeningen.se/fortroendevald/maries-kronikor/2024/hyresgasternas-bredband-en-dyr-historia/}}</ref> This indicates that Stångåstaden is not the only company who practices similar fee schemes.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" /> The incident has started a movement (led by Bahnhof) that attempts to convince politicians to make further regulations that will take the connection to the internet into account <ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-13 |title=Bredbandsupproret |url=https://bredbandsupproret.se/}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist}} | {{reflist}} | ||