Finland will be unable to reach its objective of extending high-speed broadband access to virtually every rural household due to the insufficiency of the funds allocated for the Broadband 2015 project.
“Internet service providers have filed more applications for aid than we can afford to disburse,” says Päivi Peltola-Ojala, a communications market specialist at the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA).
The objective of the Broadband 2015 project is to ensure that virtually every Finn lives within two kilometres of a high-speed broadband network. This spring, the broadband network covered 41 per cent of Finnish households.
Overall, the project is estimated to cost 130 million euros. In addition to the Finnish Government, which has allocated 66 million euros for rolling out broadband in rural areas, the European Union and local governments have funded the roll-out projects.
The applications currently pending at FICORA are worth nearly 40 million euros. FICORA has some 31 million euros at its disposal and expects to be able to grant the pending applications.
Officials at FICORA decline, however, to speculate on the future coverage of the broadband network. “We'll find out at the end of the year,” Peltola-Ojala says.
FICORA on Tuesday announced that it has granted over half of the funds allocated for the project, the largest recipients being areas in north-eastern and North Karelia.
Hannes Nissinen – HS
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
© HELSINGIN SANOMAT
Photo: Helena Kuosmanen / Lehtikuva
