01.06.2021
Regional Councils of Northern Finland: Broadband funding conditions need to be reviewed
The national funding legislation related to broadband projects must be amended so that the objectives are in line with EU requirements and municipal funding allocations are completely abolished in order to safeguard regional equality. It is impossible for several municipalities to participate in funding when the costs per taxpayer are unreasonable. The costs of regional specificities, such as long distances and sparsely populated areas, are not taken into account when determining municipal contributions. The definition of minimum speeds is also not in line with EU requirements. If the terms of the legislation are not changed, the objectives of the Act will not be achieved.
Well-functioning connectivity is a key infrastructure. They are vital to the vitality of the regions. From the point of view of accessibility, this is also central. Well-functioning broadband connections play a crucial role in the provincial residents' access to public welfare and health and social services through the network. At present, in many places, we rely only on insecure and ever-deteriorating wireless connections. A lot of talk about 5G doesn't improve the situation. The situation is unsustainable: responding to both current and future needs requires the construction of reliable fibre-optic connections in municipal agglomerations and rural areas.
The Government Decree related to the Broadband Construction Support Act entered into force during the spring. The decree determines the municipalities' contributions and minimum connection speeds in broadband projects. In its current form, the Regulation, which is unfavourable to several municipalities, does not allow national projects to be carried out.
The forthcoming EU stimulus package is expected to spend €50 million on broadband construction. Recovery funds shall not be allocated in accordance with the national regulation. If the current formulation is applied to the distribution of money, there is a risk that sparsely populated counties will be left without broadband projects. If the national legislation in force is applied, the regulation must be amended and the municipality's share removed. The Regional Councils have previously proposed that the municipal self-financing be abolished altogether and that State aid be increased to 66 per cent or 70 per cent used in EAFRD projects.. This would be justified because, at the time of the previous aid scheme, several municipalities did not have the financial capacity to carry out projects, even if their contribution rate was ‘only’ 8%. Discontinuing the municipality's self-financing would also allow for flexible use of different subsidies. The conditions of support for the different funding channels must be similar – there is no mandatory municipal contribution to broadband projects in the EAFRD stimulus package of EUR 16 million for 2021-2022.
As the distribution of funds under the stimulus package is refined in line with the above, the minimum speed of telecommunications connections must also be brought to the level required by the EU. The requirement of the new regulation is 70 megabytes (Mbit/s) during peak hours. This is at odds with the EU's goal that everyone should have access to 100 mega by 2025. The Commission is still raising the requirements so that future EU funding would be conditional on a speed of at least 200 mega. By 2030, all households should already be covered by connections of 1,000 megawatts. These policies affect the EU's EAFRD, so the same requirements are justified in the case of the Broadband Act.
The Northern Finland Advisory Board proposes that national legislation related to broadband projects should be amended to meet EU requirements and that municipal financial contributions should be abolished altogether. Regional specificities must be taken into account in the regulations. The construction of fibre optic networks must be secured for the whole of Finland.
CHILDREN'S APPLICATION
Provincial Director What Riipi
APPLICATION OF KAINUU
Provincial Director Pentti Malinen
CENTRAL NORTHERN APPLICATION
Regional Director Jyrki Kaiponen
NORTH NORTH APPLICATION
Regional Director Pauli Harju
