The coverage area of wireless broadband has expanded so rapidly that increasingly more people in Finland can now acquire broadband access to their homes, holiday cottages, boats and caravans. On the first of May, Sonera lowers the barrier of acquiring wireless broadband by dropping the charge for broadband access provided through Digita’s @450 network to 39.90 euros a month.

Sonera has the most extensive offering of wireless connections offered through 3G and @450 networks in the country. By the end of the summer, Sonera will expand the coverage of its 3G network, extending it to about 200 towns and population-centres. At the same time, Digita's @450 broadband network will cover 90% of the population and holiday homes by the end of the summer. In Digita's @450 network, Sonera acts as a service provider and offers broadband access of max. 1 Mbps at 39.90 euros a month as from May 1 (previously 44.90 euros a month).

"The strengths of @450 broadband include its ease-of-use – 97% of the test users said the service was easy to bring into use – and its extensive coverage, which will become nationwide by the end of 2009. The network allows us to provide broadband to such cottage, fell, archipelago and rural areas where it has not been available before," says Jussi Salminen, Head of Home Services at Sonera's Broadband Services. "The consumer subscription also comprises the standard supplementary services included in Sonera Broadband, such as email and homepage space. The subscription is ideal for summertime usage, as it can be inactivated for a period of 1 to 9 months."

Wireless data transmission speeds up
Sonera's goal is to make modern Internet access available to everyone in Finland. According to a consumer survey carried out by the assignment of the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority, 1 Mbps is the most common broadband access speed in Finland and most users feel their current access speed is sufficient for their needs. On the other hand, increase in access speeds has long been a trend in both the fixed and the wireless networks.

"The data transmission speeds of wireless broadband will grow in the same way as has already happened in the fixed network. The maximum speed of Sonera's 3G network will grow from 2 to 3.6 Mbps during the spring and Digita's goal is to increase the speed of @450 broadband as well," Salminen continues.

Fewer people travel to work when they have broadband at home and at the summerhouse
Modern telecommunications technology provides an excellent opportunity to telework. According to Sonera's trend survey, every third employee in Finland works more outside his or her workplace this year than they did last year. Only 10% would not want to be able to telework at home. Further, nearly 58% of the people telework or would like to be able to telework at the summerhouse. At least every fourth travel to work could be replaced with the use of modern communications tools, estimate 38 out of 100 Finnish companies. The Sonera Business Internet Wireless solution designed for companies and provided through @450 network makes it possible to work efficiently and flexibly outside the office.