History

The Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority is an agency under the Ministry of Transport and Communications. It continues the operation of the Telecommunications Administration Centre, which was established in 1988.

As issues related to communications and information society grew increasingly important and the Telecommunications Administration Centre became a general administrative authority for electronic communication and information society services, the old name no longer corresponded to the authority's duties and continuously expanding field of activity.

The decision to change the name was made at the end on 2000 and the new name was introduced in September 2001. When the competition in telecommunications began, there was a need to separate business operations and administrative functions in the sector. The Telecommunications Administration Centre was established to fill this need. The development in telecommunications was taken into account in the Telecommunications Act that entered into force in 1987 and in the Radio Act in 1988.

The TAC was formed of the Radio Inspection Office in the Radio Division in the General Directorate of Posts and Telecommunications of Finland and the TV Licence Centre, which had been a special unit in the Posts and Telecommunications, the Tele Inspection Division in the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the TV Licence Inspection Division in the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle. Type approvals of telecommunications terminal equipment were transferred from telecommunications operators to the new authority.

The Posts and Telecommunications of Finland became state-owned companies as of 1990. In 1994 a new Act on Postal Services took effect and separated the business and the supervisory activities concerning postal services. The TAC was appointed to supervise compliance with the Act and other provisions issued thereunder. The related activities of the former Posts and Telecommunications of Finland were transferred to the TAC.

Since the establishment of the authority, the communications markets have undergone a rapid transformation, which is mainly due to the rapid expansion and globalisation of the Internet and mobile services and the new challenges relating to electronic services and commerce. The ongoing convergence of telecommunications, information technology and media communication is one of the biggest changes the sector has ever faced. This convergence is promoted particularly by the heavy growth of the Internet and the digitalisation of radio and television networks, which enables the networks to be used even for other forms of communication.