Finland has become the first country in the world to mandate access to high speed broadband for every citizen.
From next July, all 5.3 million Finns will have the legal right to a one-megabit broadband connection. Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications has already announced that it make a 100 Mb broadband connection a legal right by the end of 2015 but yesterday announced this new initiative as an intermediary step.
In September the ministry announced that it would invest €12.5 million towards the national broadband project to fulfil the government’s aim of giving all citizens access to a high-speed broadband connection.
The Finnish government is also bolstering the construction of telecom connections as a means of creating new jobs in addition to promoting the development of e-government services.
Finland has an internet penetration rate of around 79%.