IT abroad: Internet access becomes a legal right in Finland

Finland has become the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right of every citizen of the country.

These measures of the government are aimed at providing Internet access to the most distant and least populated areas of Finland.  Starting in July 2010, telecommunication companies of the Santa-Claus’s motherland will be required to provide all the country’s population (5,2 mil. people) with Internet connection that runs at speeds of at least 1 megabit per second. The one-megabit mandate, however, is simply an intermediary step, said Laura Vikkonen, the legislative counselor for the Ministry of Transport and Communications.  The country is aiming for speeds in the citizens’ homes that are 100 times faster – 100 megabit per second – for all by 2015.