芬兰立法:全民应享有宽带上网权

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芬兰交通和通讯部日前宣布，从明年7月开始，每位芬兰人都有权拥有至少1Mbps的宽带连接。芬兰将因此成为全球首个通过立法的形式保证宽带接入为公民权利的国家。

而且，这仅仅还是一个开始。芬兰交通和通讯部还表示，政府的目标是，到2015年年底前，要让至少100Mbps速度的宽带接入成为芬兰人的法定权利。

不过，芬兰政府也考虑到了其中存在的障碍。根据Wiki百科上的信息，芬兰全国人口530万，总面积却达到33.8万平方公里，每平方公里的人口密度仅有15.6人，排在全球所有国家和地区的第199位。地广人稀恐怕是芬兰执行全民宽带计划面临的最大问题。因此这项法令中也规定，如果公民可以使用移动电话网络接入，则此宽带接入速度的标准可有所放宽。

In Finland, the static noise of a dial-up modem and the stress of a slow Web connection soon will be relics of the past. Beginning next July, every person in the country of Finland will have the legal right to a one megabyte Internet connection. It's the first country in the world to make broadband Internet access a legal requirement.

Suvi Linden is Finland's minister of communications, and she's on the phone from Finland. First of all, welcome to the program.

Ms. SUVI LINDEN (Minister of Communications, Finland): Thank you.

HANSEN: Why does your government consider broadband Internet access to be a legal right?

Ms. LINDEN: We are pushing forward. There is strongly the development of information society. We decided that broadband connections are no longer this kind of luxury product and just for entertainment. But I think in short time, there will be more and more e-services, like net banking and stuff like that for citizens to use. And therefore we really need to have access and possibility to use e-service.

HANSEN: Will citizens have to pay money out of their own pockets?

Ms. LINDEN: Yeah. They pay for the monthly payment for the connection.

HANSEN: What happens if a citizen can't afford this?

Ms. LINDEN: At this moment, the broadband connection, the price is fairly low. Still, this is the option. It's not compulsory for anyone to have a connection.

HANSEN: There's a little over five million people in the country and the new law requires telecom companies to start providing this high-speed Internet services across the country. How has the private sector in Finland responded to this new law?

Ms. LINDEN: It's a common project because tele-operators know that since we get the federal infrastructure, it's a good possibility for them also provide new e-services. And I think that in the long term they will profit on this system, even though, of course, they weren't very happy about it. But we have also goal for 2015, we want to provide 100 megabytes. But we start with one and by the end of 2010, 99 percent of the population is covered by wireless connection.

HANSEN: Suvi Linden is the minister of communications in Finland and she joined us by phone. Thank you very much.

Ms. LINDEN: Thank you.