I’ve had a couple of meetings with operators and solutions providers in Finland today. After a number of long discussions concerning the existing Carrier market a few Finland-specific aspects have come clear. The current trajectory forecasts the end of Copper based networks in the country.
There are number of things at play that all contribute to this eventual outcome. I say “eventual” mainly because if you ask anyone in the industry in Finland they will agree that copper based services are on the decline.
FTTx
I know I’ve been talking about this in multiple posts and you might be sick of hearing it but it is the future of telecommunications (sooner or later). Currently in Finland the larger carriers have been installing it in limited areas, one of those carriers is boasting their 150,000th customer. Even the municipalities are installing it with wild abandon all at the cost of the EU, who is currently funding such projects. In addition, the regulatory commission in Finland has signalled recently that they will force local loop unbundling on all access technologies, copper, mobile and fiber.
Mobile
Mobile based data services are on an upswing in Finland, their market growth is far outstripping copper based services. Mobile operators are now cleaning house with offers of a 2 year contract at under 30 Euro for flatrate data services at 7Mbit bundled with a laptop!
DSL Decline
Recent market studies have shown that people are switching their DSL lines off in favor of the mobile offers. They’re getting comparable speeds, freedom of movement and a single bill form their mobile provider for less money; no wonder they’re switching. Rumor even has it that Telia-Sonera are considering de-installing the copper they own when the customers no longer use it. If they’re discussing de-commissioning of physical infrastructure then the death of copper is a foregone conclusion.
