Scandinavia is one of Europe’s most digitalized societies, with daily life built on online services. A blackout would therefore have devastating consequences. [Whitepaper title] examines weaknesses in the Nordic digital infrastructure—fiber networks, long-haul corridors, mobile systems, and Data Centers—and their ability to withstand shocks, adapt to stress, and remain secure over time. It also outlines scenarios and recommendations for how society can prepare and respond.
What happens when Sweden’s digital world goes dark?
Read about it in our upcoming whitepaper on digital infrastructure
Sweden is one of Europe’s most digitalized societies, with daily life built on online services—from healthcare and banking to transport and communication.
But what if it all stopped working?
Exploring the vulnerabilities
The objective of the whitepaper
- Map Sweden’s digital infrastructure: fiber, long-haul, mobile, and Data Center potential.
- Highlight the economic and societal value it enables—productivity, innovation, education, healthcare, and emergency response.
- Assess strengths and weaknesses through three lost-connectivity scenarios and their likely impacts.
- Identify current measures, remaining vulnerabilities, and future actions to strengthen national resilience.
Are you prepared?
Day 1
- 08:00
After dropping Elin at preschool, my phone had no signal. No messages. No Swish confirmations. On the train platform, the display board was frozen. A quiet tension was building. - 10:00
Outlook stalled. The mobile hotspot wouldn’t connect. Neighbors were on their balconies, phones in hand… just waiting. - 17:00
Routine collapsed. Cartoons didn’t play. Dinner felt meaningless. Erik whispered, “This doesn’t feel like a glitch. What if someone did this on purpose?”
Day 2
- 12:00
At the health center, my mom’s prescription renewal was declined—no system access. “Call 1177?” the nurse asked. But they were unreachable too. Outside, people huddled near a police car. A cyberattack, word was spreading.
Day 3
- 08:00
The fridge blinked, then died. Brownouts reminded us who was in control. Stores enforced purchase limits. Diapers, milk, essentials: scarce. Panic quietly spreading. - 18:00
We regrouped at mom’s. Elin clutched her toy rabbit like it was medicine. Erik stared at his phone. No signal. No apps. No answers.
Day 5
- Day 5 – Night
Elin asked if the internet was coming back. I said yes. Then I went to the kitchen and cried.
This is just the beginning
Sweden’s digital backbone is critical—but with integration comes vulnerability. Our upcoming white paper dives into:
- What happens when networks fail for hours, days, or longer.
- How critical services like healthcare, payments, and transport would respond.
- The human and societal impact of a digital blackout.