Finns can only get better

I was intrigued to learn this week that a home PC and internet access are now considered essential for a basic standard of living in the UK. But those forward-thinking Finns have gone one step further, enshrining a person's right to a web connection in law.

The annual report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation into the UK's minimum income standard finds that access to job websites and online-only offers makes internet access a necessity for all households of working age.

The Rowntree report also finds that a family of four also needs £6.49 a week for alcohol, £39.38 for travel expenses, £104.73 for social and leisure costs and a couple of quid for a jumbo bag of Fruit Pastilles. Probably. The web also joins a list of other tech-centric staples including mobile phones, fridge-freezers and DVD players.

But, as usual, Johnny Nordic is one step ahead of the game. A law requiring telcos to provide each of Finland's 5.3 million residents with a minimum 1Mbit/s broadband came into force earlier this month. Communications minister Suvi Linden has even promised to give all Finns access to 100Mbit/s internet within five years.

It's a good job me and our Gord went on that fact-finding trip to Scandinavia last year.