Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'

bealtine

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10461048.stm

Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen.

From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.

Finland has vowed to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015.

In the UK the government has promised a minimum connection of at least 2Mbps to all homes by 2012 but has stopped short of enshrining this as a right in law.

The Finnish deal means that from 1 July all telecommunications companies will be obliged to provide all residents with broadband lines that can run at a minimum 1Mbps speed.
Broadband commitment

Speaking to the BBC, Finland's communication minister Suvi Linden explained the thinking behind the legislation: "We considered the role of the internet in Finns everyday life. Internet services are no longer just for entertainment.

"Finland has worked hard to develop an information society and a couple of years ago we realised not everyone had access," she said.

It is believed up to 96% of the population are already online and that only about 4,000 homes still need connecting to comply with the law.

In the UK internet penetration stands at 73%.

The British government has agreed to provide everyone with a minimum 2Mbps broadband connection by 2012 but it is a commitment rather than a legally binding ruling.

"The UK has a universal service obligation which means virtually all communities will have broadband," said a spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Making broadband a legal right could have implications for countries that plan tough action on illegal file-sharing.

Both the UK and France have said they may cut off or limit the internet connections of people who persistently download music or films for free.

The Finnish government has adopted a more gentle approach.

"We will have a policy where operators will send letters to illegal file-sharers but we are not planning on cutting off access," said Ms Linden.

A poll conducted for the BBC World Service earlier this year found that almost four in five people around the world believed that access to the internet is a fundamental right.

Sponge Bob

Finland is around 5 times larger than Ireland with the same population, you get the same right to a service in very rural areas and even north of the Artic Circle....in rural areas.

I take it that this is part of the new Universal Service Obligation so lets all hope Comreg don't decide the internet is "functional" at 0K like they did in 2003

Sponge Bob

The Measure is a mixture of USO and a Communications Market Act from last year , see

http://www.circleid.com/posts/20091015_finland_legislates_universal_broadband/

Are we not due a new USO sometime or is Comreg off consulting or something ??? I did not realise that 25mbits would be the legal right in Austria by 2013 either

bealtine

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/16807-finland-makes-broadband-a-l

Finland might have the highest alcohol prices in Europe (Ireland is second highest) but at least it has its priorities straight when it comes to the digital economy.

New legislation passed by the Finnish government means that from today all Finns have a legal right to access at least a 1 megabit per second (Mbps) broadband connection and this means that Finnish ISPs will be legally obliged to provide this option to all citizens.

This new legislation has its roots in a December 2008 policy review by the Finnish government, in which two aims were set for the development of broadband connections: a downstream rate of 1Mbps by 2010 and 100Mbps by 2015.

As this broadband access was defined as a universal service, all telecom operators were subject to a universal service obligation to provide 1Mbps to permanent residences and business offices at a reasonable price by 1 July 2010 at the very latest.

Finland's Communications Minister Suvi Linden told the BBC: "Internet services are no longer just for entertainment. Finland has worked hard to develop an information society and a couple of years ago we realised not everyone had access."

Currently, Finland is one of the best-connected countries worldwide, with 96pc of citizens online.

So where does Ireland fit into this spectrum? Certainly not second to Finland, as it does when it comes to paying through the nose for beer, wine and spirits.
Ireland Offline research results

As first brought to light by broadband campaign group Ireland Offline, recent results published by test metric company Ookla after carrying out 1.5 billion individual broadband speed tests worldwide tested 800,000 points in Ireland alone and the results found that Ireland came 41st in terms of download speeds and 63rd for upload speeds.

In the EU27, the only countries lagging behind Ireland now are Spain, Italy, Malta and Cyprus, which leaves Ireland distinctly lacking in terms of broadband speeds for a knowledge economy.

The survey found that in terms of broadband quality, Ireland is in 65th place, with only seven countries including Egypt, Kenya, Iran and Lebanon doing worse on this front. Every other EU member country including developing economies Serbia, Albania and Muldova, has better broadband quality than us based on this extensive testing. (Note: the tests are conducted by the end user from their own computer or smartphone).

Munster MEP Alan Kelly feels Ireland should review its broadband strategy and follow Finland's example in order to ensure decent broadband for all Irish citizens.

"Ireland lags way behind the rest of Europe when it comes to broadband and the problem is worst in rural areas. I am urging Communications Minster Eamon Ryan to be ambitious in his future plans for broadband and make the digital economy his No 1 priority," said Kelly.
No broadband, no smart economy?

He went on to say that without ubiquitous broadband, Ireland will struggle to attract the kind of companies it needs for the smart economy the Irish talk about so much.

"The lack of high-speed broadband is acting as a barrier to new enterprise development in rural Ireland. High-speed access would allow indigenous, high potential start-up enterprises to thrive in rural Ireland, creating much-needed employment and commercial activity."

Ireland currently has what I call 'Bebo and Facebook' broadband. We are suffering with speeds that allow people to check emails and carry out very basic functions but nowhere near the levels required to drive a smart economy," added Kelly.

Marie Boran

rob808

bealtine wrote: »

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/comms/item/16807-finland-makes-broadband-a-l

Finland might have the highest alcohol prices in Europe (Ireland is second highest) but at least it has its priorities straight when it comes to the digital economy.

New legislation passed by the Finnish government means that from today all Finns have a legal right to access at least a 1 megabit per second (Mbps) broadband connection and this means that Finnish ISPs will be legally obliged to provide this option to all citizens.

This new legislation has its roots in a December 2008 policy review by the Finnish government, in which two aims were set for the development of broadband connections: a downstream rate of 1Mbps by 2010 and 100Mbps by 2015.

As this broadband access was defined as a universal service, all telecom operators were subject to a universal service obligation to provide 1Mbps to permanent residences and business offices at a reasonable price by 1 July 2010 at the very latest.

Finland's Communications Minister Suvi Linden told the BBC: "Internet services are no longer just for entertainment. Finland has worked hard to develop an information society and a couple of years ago we realised not everyone had access."

Currently, Finland is one of the best-connected countries worldwide, with 96pc of citizens online.

So where does Ireland fit into this spectrum? Certainly not second to Finland, as it does when it comes to paying through the nose for beer, wine and spirits.
Ireland Offline research results

As first brought to light by broadband campaign group Ireland Offline, recent results published by test metric company Ookla after carrying out 1.5 billion individual broadband speed tests worldwide tested 800,000 points in Ireland alone and the results found that Ireland came 41st in terms of download speeds and 63rd for upload speeds.

In the EU27, the only countries lagging behind Ireland now are Spain, Italy, Malta and Cyprus, which leaves Ireland distinctly lacking in terms of broadband speeds for a knowledge economy.

The survey found that in terms of broadband quality, Ireland is in 65th place, with only seven countries including Egypt, Kenya, Iran and Lebanon doing worse on this front. Every other EU member country including developing economies Serbia, Albania and Muldova, has better broadband quality than us based on this extensive testing. (Note: the tests are conducted by the end user from their own computer or smartphone).

Munster MEP Alan Kelly feels Ireland should review its broadband strategy and follow Finland's example in order to ensure decent broadband for all Irish citizens.

"Ireland lags way behind the rest of Europe when it comes to broadband and the problem is worst in rural areas. I am urging Communications Minster Eamon Ryan to be ambitious in his future plans for broadband and make the digital economy his No 1 priority," said Kelly.
No broadband, no smart economy?

He went on to say that without ubiquitous broadband, Ireland will struggle to attract the kind of companies it needs for the smart economy the Irish talk about so much.

"The lack of high-speed broadband is acting as a barrier to new enterprise development in rural Ireland. High-speed access would allow indigenous, high potential start-up enterprises to thrive in rural Ireland, creating much-needed employment and commercial activity."

Ireland currently has what I call 'Bebo and Facebook' broadband. We are suffering with speeds that allow people to check emails and carry out very basic functions but nowhere near the levels required to drive a smart economy," added Kelly.

Marie Boran

That bad ireland so far behind the rest of the EU no Digital plan,no jobs,no smart economy how our goverment going to get out of this without fast broadband to attract new companies to Ireland.I think
Eamon Ryan in a dream world were he think our broadband as good as the rest of the EU.I hope Eircom can cut half of it debt with creditors and all the wired telecom campanies come togther to create a NGN but that just wishfull thinking.