General

Telephone lines are both state and privately owned, but long-distance service is a state monopoly. In 2006 there were 1.92 million main line telephones. The number of cellular phone subscribers as well as the number of internet connections per capita in Finland are among the highest in the world. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finnish mobile phone penetration exceeded fifty percent of the population as far back as August 1998 – first in the world – and by December 1998 the number of cell phone subscriptions outnumbered fixed-line phone connections. By the end of June 2007 there were 5.78 million cellular phone subscriptions, or 109 percent of the population.

Another fast-growing sector is the use of the Internet. Finland had more than 1.52 million broadband internet connections by the end of June 2007, about 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. The Finns are not only connected; they are heavy users of internet services. All Finnish schools and public libraries have for years been connected to the internet.

Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE is an independent state-owned company. It has five television channels and 13 radio channels in two national languages. YLE is funded through a television licence and private television broadcasting licence fees. Ongoing transformation to digital TV broadcasting is in progress – analog broadcasts ceased on the terrestrial network 31 August, 2007 and will cease on cable at the end of 2007. The most popular television channel MTV3 and the most popular radio channel Radio Nova are owned by Nordic Broadcasting (Bonnier and Proventus Industrier).

As of 1999 there were 6 AM and 105 FM radio stations and 120 television stations. In 2000, the number of radios was estimated at 1,623 per 1,000 people and the number of television sets at 692.

Overview

Telephones - main lines in use:
1.92 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
5.78 million (2007)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system with excellent service
domestic: digital fibre-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs
international: country code - 358; submarine cables provide links to Estonia and Sweden; satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 6, FM 105, shortwave 1 (1999)

Television broadcast stations:
120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999)

Internet country code:
.fi; note - the ICANN has assigned the ccTLD of .ax to the Aland Islands

Internet hosts:
2.323 million (2007)

Internet users:
2.925 million (2006)