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Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=9212		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:42 am ]
Post subject:  Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/10461048.stm

Quote:
Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen.

From 1 July every Finn will have the right to access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.

Finland has vowed to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015.
Author:  l3v1ck [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
That's just stupid.
If that were the UK we'd have prisoners demanding laptops and broadband in their cells.
Author:  JJW009 [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 1:35 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
l3v1ck wrote:
That's just stupid.

Why?

Quote:
A poll conducted for the BBC World Service earlier this year found that almost four in five people around the world believed that access to the internet is a fundamental right.

It seems your view is in the minority.

Surely it's just the modern day equivalent of the right to receive mail and have access to public services such as libraries, education and advice? Government services can be run much more efficiently if all citizens are on line.
Author:  l3v1ck [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
JJW009 wrote:
Why?

Rights are essential things like a right to a fair trial etc. Why should fast internet access be a right? It's nice, sure, but not a right.
Author:  JJW009 [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
l3v1ck wrote:
JJW009 wrote:
Why?

Rights are essential things like a right to a fair trial etc. Why should fast internet access be a right? It's nice, sure, but not a right.

They're not talking about "fast" access for watching HD video and playing games. They're talking about speeds 99% slower than they expect to be the norm.

As I said, so many essential services these days are on-line that not having access can make life unnecessarily complicated. Not just for the off-line person, but for those people trying to serve them. They are excluded in a very tangible way, and that will only become more apparent in the future.

Broadband access is more important to me than my local post office, which used to serve many of the same functions. I'd rate broadband above mains gas, mains drainage and possibly even mains water if I had a suitable plot with a bore hole. Personally, I would consider any property where 8mb/s or better broadband was not available to be a worthless pile of rubble and I would not live there. However, some people do not have my advantage of being able to choose.

You can measure a country by what rights it grants its citizens. Basic human rights are the core requirement for any decent society, but we have advanced far beyond that. I applaud Finland for legislating to improve the communication rights of its people and reduce the technology divide.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 2:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
l3v1ck wrote:
That's just stupid.
If that were the UK we'd have prisoners demanding laptops and broadband in their cells.

Not necessarily. They do not have the right to freely associate whilst inside so why should they have the right to internet in prison? Also this can be a simple right which benefits people in rural areas at a reasonable cost. Why should rural areas be at such a huge disadvantage?
Author:  adidan [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 7:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
l3v1ck wrote:
JJW009 wrote:
Why?

Rights are essential things like a right to a fair trial etc. Why should fast internet access be a right? It's nice, sure, but not a right.

Finland's a bit different to here.

They've generally been technologically ahead of us for years so much of society funtions through the internet. My GF's sister, for example, used to have to check online when all her exams were, they had internet banking years before us etc.

Couple that with the fact that it's a large country with a small population the fundamental need for broadband access is more apparent than here where it's generally easier for anybody in the UK to nip into town.
Author:  Nick [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 10:01 am ]
Post subject:  Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
Amnesia10 wrote:
l3v1ck wrote:
That's just stupid.
If that were the UK we'd have prisoners demanding laptops and broadband in their cells.

Not necessarily. They do not have the right to freely associate whilst inside so why should they have the right to internet in prison? Also this can be a simple right which benefits people in rural areas at a reasonable cost. Why should rural areas be at such a huge disadvantage?


If people want to live in a rural community, then that's fine by me.

But it comes with downsides as well as benefits.

I don't want to subsidise the connections of often wealthy country folk.

If you want a fast connection - live in a town. If you want peace, suclusion and wildlife then go live in the country.
Author:  belchingmatt [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
Nick, it is called society and you're just going to have to accept it.
Author:  Nick [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:37 am ]
Post subject:  Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
That doesn't mean it's fair.
Author:  jonlumb [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:44 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
Nick wrote:
That doesn't mean it's fair.


Maybe not, but most of the Western world live on the considerably better side of 'fair' than say sub-saharan africa.
Author:  belchingmatt [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 11:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
Nick wrote:
That doesn't mean it's fair.


The Poll Tax was fair, didn't last very long though.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
Nick wrote:
Amnesia10 wrote:
l3v1ck wrote:
That's just stupid.
If that were the UK we'd have prisoners demanding laptops and broadband in their cells.

Not necessarily. They do not have the right to freely associate whilst inside so why should they have the right to internet in prison? Also this can be a simple right which benefits people in rural areas at a reasonable cost. Why should rural areas be at such a huge disadvantage?


If people want to live in a rural community, then that's fine by me.

But it comes with downsides as well as benefits.

I don't want to subsidise the connections of often wealthy country folk.

If you want a fast connection - live in a town. If you want peace, suclusion and wildlife then go live in the country.

It can be done as FTTC so that the costs can be minimised. It does not have to be that expensive. Plus throughout life you will have benefited from things that have in effect been subsidised by others. Swings and roundabouts.
Author:  Nick [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
Amnesia10 wrote:
throughout life you will have benefited from things that have in effect been subsidised by others. Swings and roundabouts.


True.

I just don't think broadband internet access should be considered a "right". There are good and bad things about living in any location. I think people who live in the sticks should live with the fact that one of the downsides of doing so is that communications aren't as good as they are in built up areas.
Author:  adidan [ Thu Jul 01, 2010 12:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Finland makes broadband a 'legal right'
Nick wrote:
If you want a fast connection - live in a town. If you want peace, suclusion and wildlife then go live in the country.

I think people are missing the point, we're talking about Finland here, a fair whack of the people live in the country.

The internet has been intertwined with their society for alot longer than it has here as well.
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