Finland says that 1Mb broadband is a right, not a privilege
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted Oct 15th 2009 1:03PM
posted Oct 15th 2009 1:03PM
- Whereas all of those old episodes of Dexter available on the torrent trackers are not going to download themselves.
- Whereas no man or woman in a civilized society should be denied access to Garfield Minus Garfield.
- Whereas Finland has a population 61 times smaller than that of the United States.
- Whereas no household deserves to be "farther than 2 kilometers from a connection capable of delivering broadband Internet with a capacity of at least 100 megabits of data a second" (unless, of course, you're "in far-flung corners of the country," in which case you're out of luck).
- Whereas this is the same nation that brought the world Nokia and public restrooms that can only be accessed via SMS.
- Now, Therefore YLE reports that FINLAND has made 1-megabit broadband Web access a LEGAL RIGHT starting in JULY 2010, with the ultimate goal of making 100Mb available to all in 2015. Now APOCALYPTICA has no excuse for never updating its MySpace page.
[Via CNET]
damn they are lucky
I second that, things like this creates a dream of living in another country
Not lucky, just over here in Europe we are normal unlike you guys in the US of A.
I am the happiest man in the world and I live in the US !!!!
Hotdogs and Rock'n'Roll . America Fuck Yeah !
I still love other countries don't get me wrong :D
Like Spain, France, Argentina, Italy, Canada, England, Ireland
But, I just love how here in the US I find people from all of those countries. Living and loving diversity
So...what are the residency and citizenship requirements like in Finland?
How about free education (inc. university) and you actually even get paid for studying (not much but still)?
@ 10minutehobo
Pretty much the only requirement is that some poor bastard will find hes/her way here.
Oh and I forgot to mention that practically everyone here are REQUIRED to have atleast four weeks of summer holiday and one week during winter months, and that's the law :D
Someone, somewhere in Real America: "Socialism, High Speed Internet... Socialism, High Speed Internet... Decisions, Decisions..."
Let's admit it, America, in most technological terms, sux.
I've been living in America almost all my life (and still here), but after having lived in Spain, Switzerland, and Italy, America is missing in a lot.
When I read news about Japan having all this Robot business, how in Hungary (and most European countries for that matter) you get paid for going to College, and how incredibly fast and cheap the internet speeds over at England, the only thing I want to do is GTFO of here ASAP.
heh, i get paid to go to college here in slovenia too :P
not for transport expenses and books and such, i just get paid to stay in college, but that's ok with me :)
I'll pass, I'd rather pay less in taxes.
@HotDog:
I don't know you but a tax rate of 9-32% national, 16-21% municipal over at Finland (according to Wikipedia) doesn't sound a hell lot to me compared to what we pay in the US.
@10minutehobo
Well, I could technically move to Finland and stay there as an EU citizen. But then again, there are more people in London than there are in the whole of Finland. Decisions, decsions... :P
@ r3loaded
Can't really see how is that bad? Less people, less traffic, less crime rate, more wealth, more civilized society, faster broadband internet..
No, still not seeing it.
@Johanu
What about receiving only 40% of your paycheck after tax? What about the climate? As for crime, it has the highest homicide rate in the EU. But most importantly - what about jobs? You know, the reason that so many people still choose to move to the US?
Please, Please Leave. More Freedoms for me.
With a median age of 41.6 years, Finland is one of the oldest countries, half of voters are estimated to be over 50 years old. Like most European countries, without further reforms or much higher immigration, Finland is expected to struggle with demographics, even though macroeconomic projections are healthier than in most other developed countries.
Seriously. Bald Eagle or Whooper Swan?
Regarding Finland's tax rate, the way it works is all the taxes add up. VAT is 22%, soon to be raised to 23%. Gas costs around $7.5 per gallon right now, most of the price is tax of course. The list goes on. It's just terribly expensive to live in Finland, and that's the cost of all that free healthcare, university et al.
For the record, I'm fine with that mostly.
But take it from a Finn about to move to Los Angeles (already lived there for a few years earlier), I'd say both the Finnish and US models have their pros and cons. I think Finland would do well to borrow a little from the US, and the US would do well to borrow a little from Finland (and Europe in general).
Except one thing. The weather. It suuuuuuuuuuucks in Finland. Terrible. I'm so glad I'm going to be back in Southern California soon.
lol @ those complaining about US internet speeds
we in australia have much worse internet and we pay more that those of you in the US
I live in California and was paid for going to college (tuition + living expenses) If you parents are very poor, you can get paid. I'm getting 10mbps internet speed for $45 from TW, and paying around 35% for tax, 401K, and health care combined. With nice CA weather, I don't see any reason to envy Finland or Japan. (If you actually know how Japanese need to study and work their entire life and still live miserably, you won't envy them.)
@alex: cool story bro
If that law was enables here in the US, it would put AT&T DSL out of business.
well you see, it's just like FedEx and UPS.... T_T
Yeah sure.
AT&T privides dsl to 40% of USA 22 out of 50 states.
By the way AT&T wireless also carries triPle the amount of 3g smartphone data than verizon. Think about that. Now that is sick. Has 3 times more Active smartphones than vzw.
AT&T average speed using DSL is 786 kbps. Remeber that is using a land-line... not U-verse. And we are not taking about wireless connections.
Damn straight. Just recently Verizon's lowest-end Internet landline plan was boosted from ~700Mb to 1Mb. But even there, let's be honest, for $30/month ($20 IF you have a Verizon landline phone), is a hell lot. FiOS and Cablevision are the only decent speeds (compared to European/East Asian speeds anyways), and they're still overpriced ($145/month for 50Mb, wtf?!).
@Mega-Japan
I hope that was a typo...
Anyway,
This doesn't take into account areas without much competition. The only ISP around here is a local telco. The "fastest connection" (according to the ad flyers) was recently bumped up to 1Mbps from 768kbps for ~$49/month (plus tax/fees/crap). And this is in a suburban area too, not in the middle of nowhere.
I'd actually take Comcast over my local telco any day.
@ThreeDee912:
Yes, yes it was -_-'.
Like hell Verizon would have 700Mb plans, at least for the next 3 decades.
I meant 700kb.
Looks like I'm moving to Finland!
I actually wouldn't mind moving to finland
Hmmm, dang you have less than 1 MB?
I have 20 mpbs
20Mbs rocks, makes 700MB seem like a MP3 download.
We are not talking about how much bandwidth you got! Its about the fundamental right to sue Telcos for not providing 128KBps consistent speed.
@ tikiteko : Do you feel better now that everyone knows you have 20Mbs?
I actually have 8Mbps cable which works just fine. But the thought of the government putting in place the provisions to have decent broadband everywhere, is pretty awesome if you ask me.
Sorry, dude, it is just that the US is a capitalist country with not that much government intervention into the economy (with some exceptions of course)
I do agree however, with the person that said that you should be able to sue a company that, say, advertises 3 mbps but gives you less.
However, I think it was here in Engadget, that it was reported that a study found that ISP providers give way less than it is advertised.
"it is just that the US is a capitalist country with not that much government intervention into the economy (with some exceptions of course)"
Ummm you missed a meeting somewhere, Europe has been a capitalist economy since before the USA existed, where do you think it came from >?
@Major4Play
Actually, we are both quasi-capitalist, and Europe is just a bit more quasi than we are.
If by quasi you mean "slightly less in the pocket of big business" then yes you are correct, but you are still including Europe under one big umbrella and the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania etc. all have their own political systems that lean left or right to their own degree.
It doesn't mean America is some great capitalist wonderland and all us Europeans are commies.
Bags, consider yourselves packed!
Sorry, you will have to pay for those. : /
Here in Denmark we (I) have the local gov't install to all houses optic fiber cables with a router with 8 ethernet ports, capable of a theoretical speed of up to100 mbps each way.
We still have to pay for the connection (or this would'nt be Denmark anymore) and an N draft router (if you want wifi), but now I get 50mbps , free local telephony, and HD TV for about the same price I payed for 20mbps only last year.
A recent research though showed that 88% of the people in my area have no idea about what to do whith the ugly box that is now screwed to their wall.
Plexus, I just wanted you to know that I hate you.
Makes sense. Fast internet improves productivity, and almost everyone uses it, so you might as well use taxation to make a massive investment in it and reap the rewards for decades. I consider it a vital resource like water, gas and electricity are. Oh, and I think they should never have been sold off by Thatcher either.
I'm a socialist, lol.
americans will never ever agree to more taxes for anything
look at california
@Uncontrol: Correction: americans will never agree to more taxes for anything unless it pertains to killing people.
For some reason, we seem fine with carrying on two massively expensive wars and a similarly expensive drug war, none of which have accomplished anything.
A vital resource?
No you buffone, A vital resource is water, food and intelligence something socialist lack in any great abundance.
@Mark:
Correction; I don't ever remember reading a ballot item that read anything along the lines of "taxes increased to subsidize military spending while starting/retaliating/sustaining/ending a war".
If there was, I'm not sure I'd tick the 'No' box, either. If the boys are going to war, I don't want to see them going unprepared or ill equipped...
@Hbishop: The sheer amount of irony in your post is amazing. Please, tell us all how much of a "buffone" he is. Maybe you can also tell us how you done had it with tose stoopid socialist.
Totally. The internet is one of the most economically important pieces of infrastructure in any country.
It is used by students and adults to learn and communicate, and by service providers to deliver digital content. If everybody in the country has internet access, you can bet digital media providers are going to be pouring their investments in.
Interestingly enough, none of those things are guaranteed as rights in America. Some people still drill their own wells. Gas is definitely not available everywhere. Electricity comes pretty close, but it is not found everywhere either.
mark, you don't consider enabling a democratic government in a country previously ruled by horrible dictator who murdered many, many thousands of his own civilians accomplishing anything? saddam was put to death by his own country, he was an evil man. i bet most Iraqi's are thankful. and you don't know how many terrorist attacks our presence in afghanistan combined with an intense focus of gathering intel has prevented. i distinctly remember an incident in Britain where they arrested around 30 people who were planning another plane bombing type thing, planes which were headed to the US, i think.
@maveric101
I have a limited supply of tiger-repelling rocks. Normally I sell them for $50; but for you, I'll make it $20. Interested?
nobody will probably read this, but whatever, i was just looking through old comments.
i don't understand, are you trying to say i'm gullible? well guess what, there was nothing wrong in what i said. just today on CNN they reported about a thwarted terrorist attack in Canada; they were planning to bomb Toronto. there is still work to be done, the terrorists aren't just going to stop.
I feel proud of my country now.
SUOMI FINLAND PERKELE!
I'm just curious, if my friend's home will finally get a broadband connection, or will he still be stuck with his 3G-modem (which was hell of a work to get into 3,5G.. lol, 20km to the mast).
..Though 200kb/s is not too bad for a 3G-modem. (+ Directional antenna)
Do the girls there look like hot Swedish blonds except they're Finnish?
Pretty much.
- Open for internet hungry Americans -
How many people are there in Finland anyway? 10 million? There are more people in my city than that.
It's 5,3 million.
Actually, below 6 million.
Finland:
5,250,275 (July 2009 est.)
United States:
307,212,123 (July 2009 est.)
New York City:
8,363,710
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.html
Wikipedia is your friend: 5,3mil is the correct answer.
I think this is a response of recent headline in which internet connections in different countries were compared. Our rival in every thing Sweden (if you have watched Conan O'Brien regularly in the past 3 years you know what I mean) had clearly better position and because that simply is not acceptable we have to respond.
Your move Sweden >:D
And yet where is your 100/100mb connection with unlimited cap for $30/month? Why do entire countries offer this and NY city can't? I know why. All the billions sunk into infrastructure upgrades instead not-so-mysteriously ends up lining peoples pockets.
Canada and the U.S. have been going backwards in highspeed availability. Canadians are about to be super screwed next month when Bell forces a 60GB cap on all DSL providers.
Birder,
You are assuming a lot of wrong things.
We need easily a 1000x the infrastructure as Finland to extend a service like this to all people.
Also, the ruling that getting fast internet is a right is absurd and serves to downgrade real rights.
What's the deal with you fancy Europeans? Using , instead of .
@ Binder
Wow... They actually have a bandwidth cap?! Damn. That just sucks. Even in developing countries like Malaysia and the Philippines they got dirt cheap internet without bandwidth caps. Roughly $20 when converted gives you 2 Mbps ADSL and roughly $50 gives you 5 Mbps ADSL.
But still regarding the population thing. Even New York has more people than the whole of Finland. Talk about population density. No wonder they can afford this. I bet when Finland's population quadruples at least they'll do away with this law.
Funny thing is, that most of western europe is close to that too. When i last time told an us guy that i only pay like 15 $ for 30 mbits he nearly beat me up :o And speed is growing every few month, without costing more ..
Hey, screw you! I pay $45 for 15Mb/s, and that's considered cheap. (No real animosity going on here)
I pay $60 for 20 mbos
but, I've never heard of $15 connection in Europe. When I was in Spain it was 30 euros for a mere 786 kpbs with Telefonica
Correct me if i'm wrong but Spain isn't that renowned for it's technical prowess.
It's not all flowers and sunshine in the rest of Western Europe though, I live within 5 miles of GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters) in the UK (equivalent of the NSA I guess) and got about 230 Kbps on a very good day.
I pay $16 for 20mbit at the moment. Next month it'll go up to $30, but still, pretty cheap.
Western Europe is developed in many ways, but I wouldn't say internet is where it really shines. Especially if you consider places like the UK, Spain... In UK it's pretty normal to have a capped internet connection, something that is very rare in continental Europe (well, it differs from country to country, but generally it's better than in the UK).
Yep, all of Easter Europe has fast Internet, I pay 35Mbits for 15$ and the upload is half the fast.
Not all of the Eastern Europe have fast and/or cheap internet... I pay $45/mo for 4Mbps downlink (only 256kbps uplink), which in reality works more like 3Mbps, + $5/mo for the phone line I don't even use just so I can have DSL. And you can't get anything faster (apart from dedicated optics that will cost you a kidney) than 16Mbps (768kbps uplink) which is $90/mo. Double the prices for if you want a static IP.
Yay Serbia! Yay monopolies...
I pay £7.34/month for 8Mbit broadband in the UK with O2. If I lived closer to the exchange, 20Mbit for £9.79/month would be mine (
And I pay 17$ for unlimited 100Mbits, and well, I live damn close to Finland :)
I live in Finland and 1/1 mbps broadband is free. 10/2 mbps is 10€/month and 24/2 mbps is 20€/month. I have 24/2 mbps.
The cost of broadband connections vary a lot. A few miles from here you can get only 8/1 mbps with 50€/month.
Fuck healthcare, universal broadband BABY!
Finland's got both. Including dental.
Also Santa Claus.
Well, Finland is kinda known for it's quality of healthcare.
Though I think what you said was sarcasm.
Hyvaa!!!
3..2..1 until the usual lazy slacker wannabe socialist starts bitching about why we arent like finland and so on...
Do you really prefer paying massively for crappy internet here? Or do you just like posting fame bait? I'm guessing the latter.
I pay 49.99 for 20/2.
I pay for it. Not uncle sam or over burden tax payers.
Give free internet, free healtcare, free food, free house. it sounds nice but that country will 100% fail. Oh wait, the UN will beg USA for money, and we'll give it. Thanks Clinton, Obama.
+1
"I pay for it. Not uncle sam or over burden tax payers."
Let me be one of the people who will thank you, and agree.
"Crappy" depends on where you are really. Where in these 9,161,923 Square Kilometers are you.
@Jacksonbuck I'm all for slamming a bit of communism but you do realise that the US (among alot of others) owes China, you know that socialist country, 800 Billion Dollars, or roughly 25% of total US treasury debt.
@d0mth0ma5... as an American, I would argue that that's not because of the form of government, but because of the nature of our citizens EXPECTING to be rich for doing nothing. As a nation we've truly grown fat and lazy figurative and literally. People expect things that they frankly don't deserve and are willing to sell out to special interest groups and politicians that promise it to them. If we started producing cheaper and better goods to sell to the world, some of that would quickly get paid back.
Libraries, Police Force, Firefighters, Public School Systems, Road Maintenance. These are just a few examples of socialism that we have in this country. You should take your uneducated statements and shove them in your ass (if you can find it with 2 hands and a map).
@Andir3.0 Socialism and Capitalism aren't forms of government they are economic systems.
Jesus h christ, now anything public is 'socialist'? Even freaking roads? And cops? I guess every country on the planet is socialist eh.
You people need to use the advanced pharmaceutical technology capitalism brings and get yourself doped up instead of being on the internet.
@ Andir3.0 I do partially agree with you on the issue of the free-rider problem, I wrote an essay about 10 years at what you would call "Middle School" describing the "American Dream" as a potential downfall. However I was focusing more on the obsession with people to believe in the free-market and only the free-market, it doesn't ALWAYS work. Examples of Market failure have been in the news quite a bit recently.
Relating this back to the issue, this isn't the Finnish Government saying "You can't run broadband anymore, we're going to do it", they're saying "You can still do it, but we want you to give this minimum standard" just like water purity levels.
Spot all the Americans who assume that Finland isn't capitalist, the whole of Europe is a capitalist free market economy you idiots !
@ Major4play You've made a similar point four times. We get it...
Really are you sure ?
Yep...
1 - "Ummm you missed a meeting somewhere, Europe has been a capitalist economy since before the USA existed, where do you think it came from >?"
2 - "Spot all the Americans who assume that Finland isn't capitalist, the whole of Europe is a capitalist free market economy you idiots !"
3 - "Don't forget Europe is also a free market economy and capitalist. Americans don't understand what capitalism means, Europe invented it."
4 - "Who are all these idiotic Americans that think Finland and the rest of Europe are not capitalists ? Europe invented Capitalism bitches....."
Europe = Capitalist and has been for Millennia, throw in a bit of name-calling to get you down-ranked.