Introduction
Ledningskollen.se is a web service for sharing information about cables, pipelines and other infrastructure underground to reduce excavation damages and provide opportunities for digging coordination.
Ledningskollen was launched on a national level on December 1, 2010 after a 15 month trial in Uppsala County.
Ledningskollen.se was established via a broad private-public-partnership, coordinated by PTS – The Swedish Post and Telecom Authority and involving several authorities, private and public cable owners and branch organizations.
Ledningskollen.se is free of charge for the users and the cable owners. From the beginning it was financed by PTS alone but since 2011 The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) and The Swedish national grid (Svenska Kraftnät) are contributing.
Broken cables can disrupt electrical, water mains, telephony and Internet services
A broken cable often disrupts services related to electricity, water mains, telephony and the Internet. Anyone taking their chances and digging without checking what is underground may even be obliged to pay damages if something is ruined. At the same time, however, it has been difficult and time consuming to survey what cables are underground – up until now.
A service for private persons, companies, municipal government and other public authorities
This is the most comprehensive service available on the market and it works just as well for private persons as for companies, public authorities and municipal government. This system is configured for many different cable owners, from major operators to municipal networks. The objective is to encompass all parties, which is why all cable owners are encouraged to have their areas of interest registered.
"Fewer interruptions benefit Swedish subscribers and the international community, since telecommunications and Internet traffic crosses many borders. This service brings us one step closer to a society with robust communications," said Marianne Treschow, Director-General of PTS at the regional press conference on Sep 7, 2009.
Automatically generated queries to cable owners
This system has Sweden divided into quadrants one square kilometre in size where the cable owners have provided information about their buried cables. A person planning to excavate highlights the relevant area on the map, whereupon the service interprets which cable owners are affected and then sends an automatically generated query to all the parties.
For security reasons, the information about the exact location of cables is not contained in a database connected to the Internet. The details become known in the subsequent dialogue following the application. If no underground cables are located in the area to be excavated, the party planning to dig will be informed about this immediately.
The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) monitors the electronic communications and postal sectors in Sweden. The term ‘electronic communications’ includes telephony, the Internet and radio. The Agency works with consumer and competition issues, efficient utilisation of resources and secure communications. Read more at www.pts.se.