A one-megabit internet connection will be guaranteed to every Finn starting in July, said Finland’s Ministry of Transport and Communications on Wednesday.

But that’s just the beginning. A 100 megabit connection will be guaranteed to every Finnish citizen by the end of 2015.

Contrary to many reports circling the net, Sweden was actually the first to guarantee universal broadband access, in 2006, according to IntoMobile.

Universal broadband, universal healthcare, the decimation of invading Russians, Simo “White Death” Häyhä. Do we need any more proof that Finland is winland?

The entire interview (MP3 link) clocks in at 55 minutes, and the Times was nice enough to split it up by topic. But if you don’t have that kind of time, here’s the highlights:

• He calls the DTV transition, “largely a success,” despite a few lingering issues.
• Says that the FCC will do a review of media ownership and consolidation next year.
• Says he’s trying to institute a “culture of excellence” at the FCC.
• Confirms that net neutrality will apply to both wired and wireless networks, but there will be differences due to technical reasons.
• Restates that “we need more spectrum,” for wireless broadband.
• On applying decency rules to mediums other than broadcast television and radio: “The FCC shouldn’t enter the content world lightly, and the FCC should understand that it’s a government agency very much bound by the First Amendment.”
• Calls for greater transparency in cellular billing.
• Called AT&T’s change of heart on VoIP over 3G, a “very welcome development.”

"I believe that the biggest threat to the future of mobile in America is the looming spectrum crisis," Genachowski said.

Plans for the MBA include loosening regulations to ensure faster cell tower construction, freeing up more of the radio spectrum for wireless data, fact-based decision making, and applying net neutrality regulations to wireless carriers.

And if Genachowski’s prediction of 400 petabytes of monthly wireless bandwidth usage by 2013 is accurate, there may well be an oncoming crisis. Just one petabyte is equivalent to 1,048,576 gigabytes, or 1,024 terabytes. To put it more simply, 400 petabytes would be the size of at least 44,62,000 DVDs.

One of Genachowski’s ideas to stem the crisis is “shot clock” reform that would dramatically cut the time communities would have to protest new tower construction.

Ideally, this would speed up the deployment of new towers. Combined with additional cellular airspace, the rollout of next-generation 4G wireless broadband networks would be on track to handle the massive influx of data.

But assuming Genachowski can enact his agenda, would it even be enough?

The Knight Commission strongly encourages public support of broadband and net neutrality.

The U.S. Government should invest in widespread broadband availability, according to a study published Friday by the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy.

“All Americans should have access to high-speed Internet service wherever and whenever they need it…The Commission thus encourages public support for the development of applications that will make broadband service more attractive,” stated the commission, composed of “17 media, policy and community leaders”, including Google’s Marissa Mayer and former FCC chairman Reed E. Hundt.

The Knight Commission emphasized the growing importance of broadband access, and derided its general lack of adoption and availability. Thirty-seven percent of Americans do not subscribe to home broadband service, and about a third of rural Americans lack any sort of access, said the report.

Combined with slipping literacy standards, it creates what MIT media professor Henry Jenkins calls a “participation gap,” which cuts off opportunities for the less fortunate. The report insists that home computer access increases school enrollment and graduation rates, as well as test scores.

The commission also came out strongly in favor of network neutrality, stating, “The Knight Commission regards the openness of networks as essential to meeting community information needs. Legislators and other policy makers should remain vigilant and committed to maintaining openness.”

If the Obama Administration decides to enact the commission’s recommendations, it wouldn’t be the first time that the federal government had to step in to modernize rural America. Congress passed the Rural Electrification Act in 1935 for exactly that purpose. It was later expanded by congress in 1949 to expand telephone coverage to rural Americans.

Do you think the federal government should work to expand broadband coverage? On one hand, it would cost of a lot of taxpayer money. On the other, it could create desperately-needed jobs in the short term, and prove an invaluable asset in the long-term. Where would the United States be without nearly-universal electricity and telephone access?