[kictanet] Finland makes fast broadband a legal right

[alice]

Linking  to the current discussion on Internet outage,

I will use IDRC Outcome mapping lingua and say, what Finland is doing is 
an "I would Love to see" kind of scenario.

best
alice
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/broadband/6337698/Finland-makes-fast-broadband-a-legal-right.html
 

Finland makes fast broadband a legal right

The Finnish government has passed a law that entitles every person to a 
one megabit-per-second internet connection.

By Claudine Beaumont, Technology Editor
Published: 4:05PM BST 15 Oct 2009

Even the citizens of remote, rural parts of Finland will be legally 
entitled to a minimum broadband connection speed of one megabit per 
second, rising to 100 megabits ber second by 2015. Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Finland's Ministry of Transport and Communications has committed to 
ensuring that every person in Finland can access the internet at a 
minimum speed of one megabit per second from July next year.

The Finnish government had already committed to rolling out 100 megabits 
per second broadband connections across the country by 2015. It's the 
first country in the world to make universal minimum internet access 
speeds a legal requirement.

The government said the move was aimed at improving broadband provision 
in rural areas. Telecoms companies across Finland will have to start 
rolling out high-speed services to all locations. But the Finnish 
authorities have stressed that this is merely an "intermediary step" 
ahead of the roll-out of superfast broadband within the next five years.

"We think [the internet is] something you cannot live without in modern 
society," said Laura Vikkonen, a spokesman for the ministry. "Like 
banking services or water or electricity, you need an internet connection.

"Universal service is every citizen's subjective right."

Finland, which has a population of around 5.2 million, is already one of 
the most connected countries in the world, with 95 per cent of citizens 
already hooked up to some form of internet connection.

Although other countries, such as France, have declared the concept of 
guaranteed web access a "human right", Finland is the first nation to 
recognise this in law.

The British government and internet stakeholders will be keeping a close 
eye on Finland's plans. In the recent Digital Britain report, the 
government set a target of universal internet access of speeds of at 
least two megabits per second by 2012.

But it remains unclear whether this target will be achieved, as rural 
and remote areas may still have to rely on mobile or satellite 
broadband, rather than fixed-line internet connections, for their web 
access.

The Prince of Wales has added his voice to the debate, calling on the 
government and internet service providers to stop the countryside 
becoming a "broadband desert".

"Access to the internet is increasingly becoming a necessity," he wrote 
in The Daily Telegraph at the weekend. "The lack of access to high speed 
broadband is putting many of those who work in rural communities at a 
severe disadvantage."

BT recently announced that it was doubling the roll-out of its own 
next-generation, high-speed 100 megabits per second broadband network, 
making it accessible to 2.5 British households by 2012. However, most of 
those homes are expected to be concentrated in urban areas.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/broadband/6337698/Finland-makes-fast-broadband-a-legal-right.html