Reliable and easy communications
Dear reader, The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) supervises and promotes operations in communications markets. The most recent responsibility added to our broad field of activity is to strengthen cyber security. To this end, a new cyber security centre built around our traditional information security tasks will be established. Our valuable role and responsibility in society remains unaltered: reliable and easy communications for everyone in Finland. Our stakeholders know FICORA well, but only through certain aspects. The name FICORA is familiar to the general public, but our responsibilities remain largely unknown. That is why we want to share what the duties of the Finnish authority responsible for the steering and supervision of electronic communications and postal operations are with you. We have chosen a perspective that shows how our operations are present in the daily lives of Finns - consumers and entrepreneurs alike. We are only happy to tell you more about us.
Best regards
Asta Sihvonen-Punkka Director-General
FICORA in a nutshell Imagine your life without a functioning mobile phone or internet connection. How about if society’s functions were paralysed? The accelerated development of technology has enabled a new way of life based on networks and mobility. The downsides of the development are dependency on technology’s functionality and information security threats. We at FICORA ensure that telecoms operators in Finland provide well-functioning, affordable and safe telephone and internet connections for anyone to access. We create the right conditions for new wireless services. We also make sure you can watch television and listen to the radio, and that the mail delivery functions everywhere in Finland. We at FICORA are represented by 200 specialists in economics, technology and law. We do our best to ensure that your everyday life is smooth.
FICORA milestones 1988
The Telecommunications Administration Centre (TAC) was founded on 1 October 1988. It replaced the Radio Inspection Office (General Directorate of Posts and Telecommunications), the TV Licence Centre (Posts and Telecommunications), the Telecommunications Inspection Division (Ministry of Transport and Communications) and the TV Licence Inspection Division (Finnish Broadcasting Company). In addition, the approval of telecommunications devices was transferred to TAC. Mr Reijo Svensson was appointed Director-General.
1994
The new Act on postal services separated postal administration and business operations from one another. The supervision of the Act on postal services was handed over to the TAC.
1998
The TAC, now 10 years old, was given new supervisory duties related to telecoms networks and services and subscriber connections.
2001
The Telecommunications Administration Centre developed into a general administrative authority within electronic communications and information society services. The new name, the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA), was adopted in September 2001. In addition, the handling of information security violations (CERT-FI) and responsibility of telecommunications security was passed to FICORA. Ms Rauni Hagman was appointed Director-General.
2002
As part of the new Act on Postal Services, the responsibilities of the Undelivered Postal Items unit in Jyväskylä were transferred from Suomen Posti Oyj to FICORA.
2003
The new Communications Market Act brought market steering and supervision tasks to FICORA, as well as the granting of short-term television and radio licences. The new Domain Name Act entered into force in September and FICORA introduced a new online service for fi-domain names.
2008
The leasing of the Broadband 2015 project was based on a government Decision-in-Principle with the aim to guarantee ultra-high speed (100 Mbps) data transfer connections to everyone, regardless of their place of residence, by the end of 2015. FICORA grants state aid for building the connections.
2010
FICORA’s NCSA-FI was established to be responsible for security matters related to the data transfer and the handling of classified information in electronic communications.
2011
Ms Asta SihvonenPunkka was appointed FICORA’s new DirectorGeneral. The year marks the tenth anniversary of the information security unit CERT-FI and the 25th anniversary of fi-domain names.
2013
A cyber security centre will be built around traditional information security duties at FICORA.
Communications supports our daily lives FICORA ensures that all communications connections and services function all over Finland.
160K
250,000 High-speed broadband connects a quarter of a million households with IPTV services
9,000,000 Finland is home to more than nine million mobile phone subscriptions
Increasing choice Information for making choices, services at reasonable prices Efficient competition in the market guarantees reasonable prices for users of communications services. Therefore, FICORA steers and supervises the telephone, broadband and media markets by ensuring that even new telecoms operators can enter the market. FICORA’s websites offer consumers fresh information on communications services and their quality, availability and prices to make it easy to compare and choose.
160K
New wireless services New kinds of wireless services of good quality, such as various positioning services, are available for users. FICORA is responsible for spectrum management in Finland and it ensures that companies developing new systems have access to a sufficient number of operable and interference-free frequencies.
80% / 97% More than 80% of the population are no further than 3 kilometres from a postal service point, and 97% are no further than 10 kilometres away
63,000,000 State aid worth €63 million is
granted to broadband projects in sparsely populated areas
Ensuring equality 160K
Telephone and internet for everyone Those living and working outside the larger population centres are just as entitled to use communications services as city dwellers. It is FICORA’s duty to supervise that every home and company has access to a basic telephone and broadband subscription. With the help of state aid granted by FICORA, highspeed broadband connections stretch to the most remote parts of Finland. This creates better opportunities for companies to operate in Finland.
Reasonable distance to postal services Functional postal services are still a relevant part of the everyday life of consumers and companies. FICORA ensures that basic postal services are accessible to everyone at a reasonable distance and that items of correspondence are delivered to recipients within an agreed schedule. FICORA also finds recipients for postal items lacking full address information.
Everyone is entitled to TV and radio A licence is required for setting up a TV or radio station. FICORA grants short-term licences to TV and radio channels, while other licences are granted by the government. FICORA ensures that TV and radio broadcasters comply with the licence terms related to reception and programming. FICORA also ensures that the channels comply with the provisions on advertising, sponsorship and product placement.
50,000 The number of fi-domain names grows by 50,000 a year
180,000 The automated system filters more than 180,000 observations of information security deviations
Building trust Interference-free communications connections Reliable communications connections are the foundation of efficient communications services. FICORA ensures that communications networks function continuously, even in exceptional circumstances - whether the fault or disturbance is due to a break in power supply, device failure or radio interference. Users are kept informed with real-time information on faults and disturbances in communications networks.
Secure communications connections Information security threats are an increasing problem and make life difficult for companies and individuals alike. Securing the functions vital to society in particular requires reliable and up-todate situational awareness. FICORA also collects information and issues warnings, including to the general public, of information security threats, and it analyses risks and supports agencies in managing information security disturbances. FICORA also protects the confidentiality of information by monitoring the operations of identification and qualified certificate providers.
Itämerenkatu 3 A, FI-00181 Helsinki, Finland Tel: +358 295 390 100 Fax: +358 295 390 270 www.ficora.fi
