jpillian Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Fast Internet access becomes a legal right in Finland (click title for full story) By Saeed Ahmed (CNN) -- Finland has become the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right. The move by Finland is aimed at bringing Web access to rural areas, where access has been limited. Starting in July, telecommunication companies in the northern European nation will be required to provide all 5.2 million citizens 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 Vilkkonen, the legislative counselor for the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The country is aiming for speeds that are 100 times faster -- 100 megabit per second -- for all by 2015. "We think it's something you cannot live without in modern society. Like banking services or water or electricity, you need Internet connection," Vilkkonen said. Finland is one of the most wired in the world; about 95 percent of the population have some sort of Internet access, she said. But the law is designed to bring the Web to rural areas, where geographic challenges have limited access until now. "Universal service is every citizen's subjective right," Vilkkonen said. Should fast Internet access be everyone's legal right? It is a view shared by the United Nations, which is making a big push to deem Internet access a human right. In June, France's highest court declared such access a human right. But Finland goes a step further by legally mandating speed. On the other hand, the United States is the only industrialized nation without a national policy to promote high-speed broadband, according to a study released in August by the Communications Workers of America, the country's largest media union. Forty-six percent of rural households do not subscribe to broadband, and usage varies based on income, the study found. In February, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission is expected to submit a national plan to Congress. The FCC says that expanding service will require subsidies and investment of as much as $350 billion -- much higher than the $7.2 billion President Barack Obama's economic stimulus package has set aside for the task. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homercles82 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Obama has i forget how many billions in the "stimulus" earlier this year for more broadband access across America but the money isn't being sent out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinInsite Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 If you ever been to South Korea it's hard to call anything here "broadband". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mardi gras skin Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 So high speed internet access is a human right. This is surreal. We could see slow internet victims on Human Rights Watch next to victims of Rwandan genocide. http://www.hrw.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCalSkins Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 So high speed internet access is a human right. This is surreal. We could see slow internet victims on Human Rights Watch next to victims of Rwandan genocide.[/img] If the people in Rwanda had broadband access and video cell phones, the level of outrage and news cycles they would have received would have been exponentially higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosperity Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Finland is a prosperous state, should it surprise us that their expectations of life are higher than ours? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnyderShrugged Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Finland is a prosperous state, should it surprise us that their expectations of life are higher than ours? werent they just in a major crisis in the last decade? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTerps26 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 why should legal human rights just be those that barely keep you alive. if finland has the means and money to declare that all their citizens get free internet access, then so be it. How is this different than a radio? I like the idea personally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACW Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 It :gus: is :gus: not :gus: a :gus: right :gus: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 why should legal human rights just be those that barely keep you alive.if finland has the means and money to declare that all their citizens get free internet access, then so be it. How is this different than a radio? I like the idea personally because you buy your own radio and then broadcast services are paid for by advertisements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpillian Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 I didn't get from the article that the service was necessarily free. Just available to everyone. Which means that the rural areas would get broadband as well. It's significantly more costly for telecom providers to run such services to more rural areas, so in general they don't. Do you suppose we had a similar uproar over basic utilities (electricity, phone) being provided in the US? I think the difference is just in the use of the term "basic human right" -- which does seem a bit lofty sounding for broadband internet access. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spec138 Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Where does it say it's free? I think they just want access for anyone who wants it, however, I've been wrong before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.