Access to Broadband Internet Connection – A Legal Right In Finland

by on July 2nd, 2010 9

Finland has become the first country to enshrine legal rights for broadband to every citizen. Effective July 1, 2010, Finns have the right to access a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection. Existing telecommunications companies will be obliged to provide Finns with broadband lines accordingly. High speed internet has been identified as a priority for the government and it has promised to provide the entire population a 100Mbps connection by 2015.

Currently, close to 96 per cent of the population has access to the internet and following the new law, close to 4,000 homes will need to be connected. The law aims to bring the Web to rural areas, where geographic challenges have resulted in limited access until now. However, the ruling would make it difficult for the authorities to tackle people who share files illegally. To deal with citizens who are breaking piracy laws, the government will be sending letters as opposed to restricted access to the Internet.

According to Laura Vilkkonen, the legislative counselor for the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the one-megabit mandate is an intermediary step as Finland aims to provide speeds 100 times faster than that, 100 megabit per second by 2015. Vilkkonen believes that the Internet has become a vital part of everyone’s lives and has turned into a necessity just like the services of a bank, water, electricity, etc.

The view that fast Internet access needs to be everyone’s right has been shared by the United Nations too. Britain has an Internet penetration of 73 percent. The British government has assured citizens that it will provide a minimum connection of at least 2Mbps to all homes by 2012 but it has not made it a law yet. The United States is the only industrialized nation in the world, which does not have a national policy to promote high-speed broadband.

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Comments
Chrispc88

And the US Government (nor any other government, or outside influence) should EVER stick their noses in what is the most FREE and UNRESTRCITED access to information!

July 4, 201012:05 pm
RiggyMoo2

Wow, go Finland, thats what i am talking about

http://www.anon-surfing.at.tc

July 4, 201012:52 pm
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