TERESE - TElecommunications and REgional Development in SwEden - Early Telecommunication Development in a Regional and Social Perspective

Public analysts in Sweden agreed in 1975 to investigate under what circumstances certain new types of communication services could be used in a regional and social perspective. Could new telecommunication services be successfully used for education, for local commercial services, regionally, and for social services? Would this possibly enhance regional functions, make distant regions more efficient, and possibly attractive? Local interest to participate was investigated in the North of Sweden. Economic and social empirical experiments of regional interest were then started. These experiments used computer conferencing based on computer terminals with acoustical modems. Video equipment was also tried. Software was acquired, adapted to Swedish form. The empirical social experiments continued until 1977. A separate evaluation was made. Conclusions indicated evident societal interest, but that user maturity for expansion would require time.