Finland has become the first country in the world to declare broadband Internet access a legal right. Wow!

Providers have until next summer, once July rolls around telecommunications companies will be required to provide at least 1 Mbps service to everyone. But the government is really shooting for 100 Mbps by 2015.

CNN explains the reasoning with a quote from Laura Vilkkonen, the legislative counselor for the Ministry of Transport and Communications, “We think it’s something you cannot live without in modern society. Like banking services or water or electricity, you need Internet connection.”

I don’t know a ton about Finland’s telecommunications, so I found a good resource on the history of telecommunications in Finland. Briefly, it sounds as if TeliaSonera is the largest landline incumbent and one of the three largest mobile providers. The largest shareholder in TeliaSonera is the Swedish government with a 37.3 percent stake.