Broadband Internet to Become Legal Right in Finland in 2010
huffingtonpost.com
huffingtonpost.com
As seriously disabled people are reimbursed for alterations to their home (eg ramps, kitchen and bathroom alterations, lifts, etc) there is a massive expense to the country. As the population is aging, they have decided to make sure that all new dwellings are prepared for these modifications. Not such a big deal for a large house, but certainly so for a tiny apartment (which are common).
The overall aim is that all inhabitants should have the services they need, regardless of their financial or social status.
Broadband is just one of those things. Mind you, I can only get 256kbps at the summer cottage due to the distance from the exchange.
I wish this would come into play in Canada, especially for people in rural areas. People should have access to the internet, just like they have access to telephones, without prejudice to where they live.
Where people live has a huge impact on the cost of providing internet service to them, so why shouldn't it matter where they live?
What it does is require some people to subsidize other people's connections. The details determine which people fall into which group and the excuse used to collect the money.
> people are going to be asking, why should I pay $30 for your 10Mb connection with 60Gb limit, when I pay $0 for a 1Mb unlimited connection
Yup. That means that the subsidy money won't come from other bandwidth purchasers. However, it will come from somewhere, or rather someones.