Finland plans nationwide broadband connection by 2015

The government of Finland has announced its plan to connect every Finish home with fast broadband Internet by the end of 2015. Its goal is to increase the country’s overall productivity, and will cover about a third of the cost to see it happen.
Speaking to the AFP, Harri Pursiainen, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, said “I have estimated that building fibre optic cable networks in areas where they would not be built commercially will cost around 200 million euro, of which the government could pay a maximum of one third, so around 67 million euro (USD 97 million).”
Pursiainen added that the remaining funding would come from telecom operators, local government and the European Union. The government wants an initial broadband speed of one megabyte per second by 2010, raising the speed to 100 megabytes per second by 2016. It estimates it can have 99 percent of the nation connected by 2015, with only those homes too remote from fibre optic connections losing out.
The government sees high speed Internet as essential to enabling its citizens to work effectively and efficiently from rural areas. Many Finns live in remote parts of the country but use the Internet as part of their business. The government believes total connectivity is the best way to ensure its people stay competitive in the global market.