Audit office: super fast internet project could fail
The government's plan to offer every Estonian access to a fast broadband network by 2020 might not pan out, says the National Audit Office.
The project has failed to think through how broadband connections are made available to those living outside of large apartment buildings and in rural areas.
The Information Society Development Plan, launched in 2009, said 100 percent of homes should have the possibility to join the network, which offers 100 Mbit/s speeds. That plan was curbed in 2013 and now aims to offer speeds of 30 Mbit/s to all people living in Estonia with 60 percent being offered the higher speed.
Around 2,800 kilometers of the broadband network has already been built with 3,800 kilometers more planned. So far, 28 million euros has been spent with another 41 million planned.
The plan was for the state to cooperate with communication's companies, but the Audit Office says there is no economic motivation by these companies to offer fast internet to the estimated 160,000 homes which are in sparsely populated areas. The cost of connecting one of these homes can range from 2,500-11,000 euros.
Read the full report, in English, here.
Editor: J.M. Laats