Finland faces new challenges in the telecommunications market

The Telecommunications Act entered into force on June 1, 1997. One of the main points of the Act is to improve the possibilities of the telecommunications operators in a sufficient way to lease cable channels. Only the provision of mobile networks remains subject to licence requirements.

Finland is a pioneer in telecommunications market. Our telecommunications legislation has been very non-restrictive and therefore we have been facing some problems while enforcing the new European communities' legislation. However we have been able to maintain flexibility in many regulations while enforcing the legislation in question.

The challenges of the liberating telecommunications markets are met by privatising telecommunications operators. Privatisation is a result of reorganisation and restructuring transpost- and communication services. A good example of the current changes in the telecommunications market in Finland is the privatisation of Sonera Oy (formerly Telecom Finland Oy).