Broadband access a legal right in Finland

Finland may only have a population of around 5.3 million, but already it is one of the only countries that can boast over ninety six per cent of its population is able to get a broadband service.

But that would seem to be irrelevant to the government as it has just passed a law that requires telecom providers to connect any household, no matter where it is located, to the broadband network by July next year.

This is similar to what the UK government is planning for 2012!

However, unlike the UK plan, in Finland the broadband providers are only obliged to provide a minimum 1 Mbps broadband connection.

According to the Finnish Connection Minister, Suvi Linden, by the end of 2015 the entire broadband network should be providing a 100 Mbps service.