Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

[Gotmadskillzson]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/finland-the-first-country-in-the-world-to-make-broadband-access

Wow...........I wish they would do that to the USA. And Finland trying to have everybody there at 100mbps connect by 2015. They are visionaries, they truly are.

[Unlucky 13]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

So in theory, people in the most remote, mountainous regions of Finland should have broadband in a few years, while I likely still wont, living in Virginia. Yeah, that makes me feel great.

[matt8204]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Great news for a society. To allow people to have so much information right at their fingertips through high-speed internet access is an amazing thing. A program such as this in the United States would also probably help create some jobs. You need people to build the infrastructure and set the plans in motion.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Yep, not only do you need people build it, but then you will need local comcast, verizon, at&t, etc staff to maintain it. So in theory, that would create 100K or more permanent jobs right there, just maintaining the network.

[ManiacMatt1782]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Yep, not only do you need people build it, but then you will need local comcast, verizon, at&t, etc staff to maintain it. So in theory, that would create 100K or more permanent jobs right there, just maintaining the network.

which sadly is the reason it won't happen here, the ceo's of these companies aren't interested in creating jobs right now. That's extra salaries to pay with no guaruntees the costs will be offset by enough new customers. I would love for all areas to have broadband, but until the mindset of ceos change, the sad reality is, it won't.

[Hooe]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Could you say that the Finnish have the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of lolz at high-speeds?



EDIT: Apparently, replacing the 'o' in lolz with a 'u' makes it not pass the profanity filter...?

[pfunk880]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

which sadly is the reason it won't happen here, the ceo's of these companies aren't interested in creating jobs right now. That's extra salaries to pay with no guaruntees the costs will be offset by enough new customers. I would love for all areas to have broadband, but until the mindset of ceos change, the sad reality is, it won't.

Yes, because CEO's mindsets shouldn't be that turning a profit is important...

[Unlucky 13]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Yes, because CEO's mindsets shouldn't be that turning a profit is important...

Capatilism at its worst. Greed makes the USA go round, I tell ya.

[mikko1995]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Well, well, well... little Finland ahead of other countires in this department? Of course we are! Finland is always ahead in these things. Hopefully that 100mpbs really happens in 2015. But really, this will be good for us.

^ says a proud Finn.

[elgreazy1]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

You'd be amazed at all the things forward-thinking European countries have over us here in the US. Gotta love capitalism.

[bkfount]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

infinite knowledge for all citizens is a priceless gift a country can provide.

I won't hold my breath to see this in the US, even though it would be far easier to do it here than in Finland. Something like 80% of our population lives near urban areas.

[JohnnytheSkin]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Well, well, well... little Finland ahead of other countires in this department? Of course we are! Finland is always ahead in these things. Hopefully that 100mpbs really happens in 2015. But really, this will be good for us.

^ says a proud Finn.

Yeah, the US really needs to push something like this or we'll see the edge in IT and tech development/engineering shifting ever more overseas.

Speaking of Finland, how difficult would it be for a small family with a six year old son to adapt to your country? My wife's company might be expanding into that neck of the woods and we're quite interested in moving that way.

[Cebby]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

9,826,675 km² vs 338,424 km²

309,643,000 people vs 5,359,538 people

That, not capitalism (Finland is a free market state) or greed is the reason it's easier to do this in Finland than the US. It's a small state and it still is only hoping to have this done by 2015.

[bkfount]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

9,826,675 km² vs 338,424 km²

309,643,000 people vs 5,359,538 people

That, not capitalism (Finland is a free market state) or greed is the reason it's easier to do this in Finland than the US. It's a small state and it still is only hoping to have this done by 2015.

Except that it's about population density, not population size. Finland is far more sparsely populated than the US, as well as most of Europe.

Population density of the US: 32,2/km².
Population density of Finland: 15,9/km².

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population_density

Finland will end up spending a larger piece of their pie building their infrastructure up to reach all their citizens compared to the US, where 80% of our population lives in cities or suburban areas.

[Cebby]

Re: Broadband is your legal right, if you live in Finland

Except that it's about population density, not population size. Finland is far more sparsely populated than the US, as well as most of Europe.

Population density of the US: 32,2/km².
Population density of Finland: 15,9/km².

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...lation_density

Density doesn't make up for size. As size increases governments and corporations become much more inefficient.

Finland will end up spending a larger piece of their pie building their infrastructure up to reach all their citizens compared to the US, where 80% of our population lives in cities or suburban areas.

And far more than 80% of the US has access to broadband. It's not like New York or Chicago are lacking broadband and millions can get access with little investment; it's bumble**** great plains, Appalachia, and those type of areas.

The parts of the US that don't have broadband would require far, far more investment than it would in Finland.

Alaska alone is twice the size of Finland with 13% of the population. That means that significantly more resources would have to be invested to make Alaska broadband accessible with very little payoff. Half of the population of Alaska is in Juneau and Anchorage so I would imagine those areas are covered already. So now you're talking about forcing companies to invest in areas far more remote than any area in Finland with only a few thousand (if that) potential investors.

So broadbanding Alaska would likely require significantly more money than the entire state of Finland. Now apply that to Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Appalachia, the person with a hundred acres in Texas, etc.

It's pretty simple in the US. If you want services, you live in or near a city and pay a lot of money. If you want to live in the middle of nowhere, you get fewer services and pay minimal taxes. I tend to believe that most people understand this. That's why the most densely populated states and cities pay high taxes and those who live in isolation don't have to pay much to do so. If a guy in Alaska or the Dakotas wants broadband, he can move somewhere where there are other people.