Tech & Biz

Finland declares broadband Internet a legal right

by BootedEagle | October 15, 2009 at 09:06 am

365 views | 58 Recommendations | 6 comments

Finland is now the first country to make broadband Internet a legal right. Starting from July, all the 5.2 million citizens need to have an access to at least 1 Mbps connection if they wish so. This mandate is however only the first step to connect everyone to fast Internet; Finland aims to get everyone a 100 Mbps Internet connection by 2015.

Laura Vilkkonen, the legislative counselor with the Finish Ministry of Transport and Communications said:

We think it's something you cannot live without in modern society. Like banking services or water or electricity, you need Internet connection.

Finland is one of the most wired countries in the world. Almost 95 percent of all the population have an access to Internet.

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israeli.agent

at 10:18 on October 15th, 2009

That is cool. Elsewhere people still have to pay around 40 USD per month for a decent , unlimited broadband connection.

Envy Fins...!

.Agent.

BootedEagle

at 10:31 on October 15th, 2009

That's true but I have to remind that this thing won't be government-run (it will not be paid from taxes). It's just a requirement for Finnish ISP's that their smallest package must be at least 1Mbps. This might lower the prices but it won't make them free.

israeli.agent

at 10:46 on October 15th, 2009

Yes, I understand this is not free and the definition of "broadband" is made to be a 1 Mbps connection.

Now look at the situation in India.

One aspect on which the Broadband Policy is clear is the definition of broadband, namely “an ‘always-on’ data connection with a minimum download speed of 256 kbps”. This definition is used most commonly worldwide (for example in OECD countries) to assess broadband penetration, though in several countries higher bandwidth is available. Recently in an industry forum, a suggestion has been made that the broadband definition be revised to a minimum of 2 mbps. Let us examine whether this suggestion will lead to greater clarity in broadband roadmap or will it lead to further confusion

This kind of "broadband" is popularly known as fraudband among disgusted Indians.

Lucky Fins..!

.Agent.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 10:57 on October 15th, 2009

In some areas in Canada, not accessible by high speed wireless internet, dial-up with a 56kb modem is still the norm. Unless you are prepared to go satellite, as I did. Satellite costs about $70 a month.

The sattelite, however, has a fair access policy, which restricts the user to 250MB of download per day. If you exceed it you're internet speed is reduced to a point where it is useless for a 24 hour period.

I like Finland's approach, our politicians both federally and locally pay lip service to it.

Thanks for this story.

Anonymously Given (not verified)

at 21:12 on October 15th, 2009

I wonder if all satellite packages are like that? I was thinking about switching over to satellite, but my current service will allow me to download many Gigabytes in a day if I want. Eventually, I'll live in an area that is "out of the range" of the current provider, and will need to switch. Maybe (thanks to the info) I'll put that off as long as I can ....