Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right. From next month every Finn can expect to have access to a 1Mbps (megabit per second) broadband connection.

The country has also promised to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015. Blighty has promised a minimum connection of at least 2Mbps to all homes by 2012 but has never made this the law.

Finland's communication minister Suvi Linden said that Internet services are no longer just for entertainment. It is believed up to 96 per cent of the Finish population are already online.

The reason countries do not make broadband a legal right is because politicians are terrified of the music and film industry. It is impossible to run a three strikes and you are out campaign against file sharers if it is a legal right to have a connection.

The Finnish government piracy laws see operators sending letters to illegal file-sharers but we are not planning on cutting off access.