Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen. No surprises then if all the techies of the world decide to move (or push the UK government to do the same)
From today every Finn will have the fundamental right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection. Their government has also vowed to connect every Finn to a 100Mbps connection by 2015. Even more reason for a techie to move!
In the meantime all the UK government could manage was a promise of a minimum connection of at least 2Mbps to all homes by 2012. We all no what happens when they promise something…they fail! No surprise then that they stopped short of making this a right in law.
The Finnish deal means that all telecommunications operations will be obliged to provide all finnish residents with broadband connections at least capable of a minimum 1Mbps speed.
Finland’s communication minister Suvi Linden stated 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. That said though would it be a choice if some Finns didn’t want to use the internet?
In the UK internet penetration stands at 73%. Maybe if we bring this up we can have a new right too!
The UK 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. Many highly doubt most ‘commitments’ the government make.
“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 harsh action on illegal file-sharing. Thanks Mandelson!
Both the UK and France have said they may cut off or limit the internet connections of people who persistently download copyrighted content without paying. However it is possible such things could be implanted into the law, for example you could lose your right if convicted of file sharing for the same period of time as you lose the connection for; for breaking the law.
The Finnish government has seemingly adopted a more gentle approach. Much to the appeasement of the film and music industries!
“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; and why shouldn’t it be?
Popularity: 4% [?]