The Government will allocate €5m in 2021, and struck an agreement with operators to improve connectivity throughout the country.
A new financial aid scheme from 2021: On 12 November 2020, the Finnish Ministry of Transport and Communications proposed a new scheme for financial aid to broadband rollout, following up on the High-Speed Broadband aid scheme 2010-2019. The proposal aims to connect 10k households in areas the market would not reach before 2025. For this purpose, the Government foresees allocating €5m in 2021.
Both fixed and mobile broadband are included: The scheme would cover both fixed broadband and fixed-wireless access (FWA) delivered through 5G. A Government decree will determine the minimum speed to qualify for aid, which would cover up to 66% of the eligible costs.
Operators strike a deal with the Government: The Government also struck a deal with the Finnish Confederation of Telecommunications and Information Technology (FiCom) and the operators DNA, Elisa, and Telia. The operators commit to develop infrastructure in line with the Government’s target to provide 100Mbps connections to all households by 2025. The deployments will occur primarily on market terms, and secondarily with public support. An annual review will track progress towards the targets.
