In a strange but landmark decision, the government of Finland has passed on a law, wherein, acquiring a Broadband connection is slated to be a fundamental right of the citizens of Finland. As funny as it may sound, all 5.3 million citizens of Finland can now get broadband connection and the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) cannot deny them a connection.

As per the new law, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has ensured the public that, each and every citizen will be provided with a broadband connection, with a speed of 1 Mbps, by the month of July in the year 2009. The slated 1 Mbps speed is expected to be increased to 100 Mbps by the year 2015. In the country of Finland, 95% of population already have access to the internet, hence this new initiative taken by Finnish government is expected to be centered largely around the rural areas.

As of now, Finland stands at 21st position in the tally of international broadband leadership. This tally is based upon the speed and the number of connections currently active in any given country.

According to a recent report by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finland,

“Every person in Finland (a little over 5 million people, according to a 2009 estimate) will have the right of access to a 1Mb broadband connection starting in July. And they may ultimately gain the right to a 100Mb broadband connection. Just more than a year ago, Finland said it would make a 100Mb broadband connection a legal right by the end of 2015. Wednesday’s announcement is considered an intermediate step. France, one of a few countries that has made Internet access a human right, did so earlier this year. France’s Constitutional Council ruled that Internet access is a basic human right. That said, it stopped short of making “broadband access” a legal right. Finland says that it’s the first country to make broadband access a legal right.”

Via Boing Boing.