But to find the most imaginative pioneers of broadband service innovation, one has to go to the Netherlands. In 2002 the Dutch Government, in association with several private corporations, built an experimental communications model called Kenniswijk, which translates as somewhere between "knowledge domain" and "smart city". Tenders were called from municipalities wishing to participate in a broadband systems trial, and the first successful submission came from the market town of Nuenen, in the southern Netherlands. About 8000 Nuenen homes, housing about 15,000 people, were connected free to a fibre-to-the-home network, representing a 96 per cent take-up. The Government subsidised this experiment for a total cost of €6.4 million (.8 million). Each connection cost was subsidised by €800.
Unusually for a telecommunications company, the residents of Nuenen themselves, rather than an internet service provider, own the network. Their ownership is formalised within a co-operative society called Ons Net (Our Net). The fibre link provides 10 Mbps bandwidth in an open-access network, that is, it is open to many service providers. Residents were given the opportunity to donate their €800 government subsidy to Ons Net in return for co-operative membership. These consumers also got a flag to put in their front garden to show that they were part of this experiment. So for those parents in homes who originally opted out of joining the experiment, their children asked why their neighbours were enjoying great new services as well as flying a lovely flag!
