Ficora - Press releases

Telecom operators must make available financial limits for data services

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:51:00 +0200

Mari Österberg, Legal Counsel, tel. +358 40 524 5368 Marja Lehtimäki, Head of Communications Markets Supervision, tel. +358 50 320 5181

Fewer young viewers watch television in real-time

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:00:00 +0200

Tiina Aaltonen, Development Manager, tel. +358 9 6966 430, +358 40 777 4082

FICORA consumer survey: Rewards after long-term customer relationships viewed as an integral part of telecommunications services

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:33:00 +0200

Tiina Aaltonen, Development Manager, Tel. +358 9 6966 430, +358 40 777 4082

Safer Internet Day roams the internet promoting good netiquette

Thu, 4 Feb 2010 15:29:00 +0200

Director of Communication Anna Lauttamus-Kauppila, Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority, tel. +358 50 563 5724, anna.lauttamus-kauppila@ficora.fi Project coordinator Heli Alanko, Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority, tel. +358 40 581 1188, heli.alanko@ficora.fi Project partners: D-Fence Ltd, DNA Ltd, Elisa Corporation, Enter, FiCom, fiMUG, Finnet Association, F-Secure Corporation, National Emergency Supply Agency, University of Jyväskylä, Central Chamber of Commerce, Consumer Agency, Office of the Ombudsman for Children in Finland, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, Finnish Society on Media Education, Meidän Perhe -magazine, Microsoft Corporation, Finnish National Board of Education, Ministry of Education, Save the Children Finland, Finnish Police, Sulake Corporation, Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, Finnish Parents’ Association, Federation of Finnish Enterprises, Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre in Finland, TeliaSonera Finland, Finnish Information Society Development Centre, Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman in Finland, Finnish Information Security Association, Technical Research Centre of Finland, Väestöliitto - Family Federation, and Population Register Centre of Finland.

Survey by Safer Internet Day project: pictures and videos a natural part of the young people's use of the internet

Mon, 8 Feb 2010 16:15:00 +0200

Looking for pictures and viewing them online is a natural part of the use of the internet of the majority of the children and young people. Ninety-one per cent of children and the young in the age group of 9-15 occasionally look for pictures and view them on the internet. Instead, children and the young do not share their own pictures online as often, up to 60 per cent of the children and the young never do so. The results are from the 'Online photo sharing' survey commissioned by the Safer Internet Day project. Your picture online - no regrets! However, sharing pictures or videos representing themselves online with people they know is becoming more popular the older the respondent is: about half of the young in the age group of 12-15 do so at least sometimes. On the basis of the survey, publishing pictures seldom brings second thoughts, but about 10 per cent of the respondents had regretted it at least sometimes. Similarly, about every tenth respondent had found embarrassing pictures of themselves online that someone else had published. Over 12-year-olds share pictures in the social media as part of their social interaction. On the basis of the survey, the young know quite well how to use the security options of online services: about 42 per cent of the respondents have restricted the viewing rights of their pictures. Girls hunt for celebrities, boys are after funny videos Girls and boys have rather different tastes in viewing pictures and videos online - except for music videos. Girls look for pictures of celebrities, friends and animals whereas boys look for fun, hobbies, TV series and movies. For over 12-year olds, sharing pictures and videos is part of their social interaction. Scary pictures appal and appeal Every second teenager has come across scary or violent pictures of movies on the internet. Although the majority of these pictures have not created strong feelings, every fourth announced that scary material appalled. Every fifth told they wish they had never come across scary material. The survey results reveal that every fourth 9-11 year-old is interested in or likes violent or scary pictures or videos online. Reliable adult is enough for online education The Safer Internet Day project encourages parents to be interested in their children's use of the internet and discuss their online life on a daily basis. No technical skills are needed for children's online education. However, studies show that presence and attention support the pros of the use of the digital media and prevents risks. It is worthwhile to create clear rules for publishing pictures and other personal information and the use of the internet. According to the 'Online photo sharing' survey, even the children and the young wish that their parents would support them in internet-related matters and tell them about internet-related risks. In other words, online safety education has brought results on the basis of this survey: children and the young are at least somewhat informed. Children and young from the age group of 9-15 participated in the 'Online photo sharing' survey. The survey was commissioned by the Safer Internet Day project and implemented by InterQuest Oy. Especially certain organisations belonging to the Safer Internet Day project, such as the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, Save the Children Finland and the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority have contributed to the work. The research report (in Finnish) [PDF, 4 MB] Safer Internet Week - Think before you >click< The national Safer Internet Day will be celebrated on 8-13 February. This year's main theme is publishing images online. During the Safer Internet Day Week and on the Safer Internet Day, the discussion focuses on publishing pictures from the viewpoint of protection of privacy, copyrights and online bullying. The slogan - Think before you >click< - reminds of the subject. Read more about the themes and events of the Safer Internet Week at www.tietoturvakoulu.fi and www.tietoturvaopas.fi. Further information: Anna Lauttamus-Kauppila, Communications Director, FICORA +358 50 563 5724, anna.lauttamus-kauppila@ficora.fi Heli Alanko, Project Coordinator, FICORA +358 40 581 1188, heli.alanko@ficora.fi Project participants: Project partners: D-Fence Ltd, DNA Ltd, Elisa Corporation, Enter, FiCom, fiMUG, Finnet Association, F-Secure Corporation, National Emergency Supply Agency, University of Jyväskylä, Central Chamber of Commerce, Consumer Agency, Office of the Ombudsman for Children in Finland, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, Finnish Society on Media Education, Meidän Perhe -magazine, Microsoft Corporation, Finnish National Board of Education, Ministry of Education, Save the Children Finland, Finnish Police, Sulake Corporation, Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, Finnish Parents’ Association, Federation of Finnish Enterprises, Copyright Information and Anti-Piracy Centre in Finland, TeliaSonera Finland, Finnish Information Society Development Centre, Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman in Finland, Finnish Information Security Association, Technical Research Centre of Finland, Väestöliitto - Family Federation, and Population Register Centre of Finland.

Itella to cut postal delivery services for persons over 75 years of age

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:42:00 +0200

Itella Oyj has notified the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority (FICORA) that from this on, it will interpret FICORA's guidelines on postal delivery for persons over 75 years of age in such a manner that mail will be delivered to disabled recipients of mail only either to apartment-specific mail drops or if there are not any, to a letterbox in the vicinity of the apartment. The right of others than disabled persons who are over 75 years old is delimited to exceptional postal delivery at the boundary of the plot of land. According to FICORA, the company's procedures deviate from FICORA's guidelines, but fulfil the obligations set in the Act on Postal Services. Provisions on postal delivery for persons over 75 years of age are not included in the Act on Postal Services. The guidelines given by FICORA on the extended service for persons over 75 years of age is based on a procedure agreed together by FICORA and Itella, and is therefore based on an agreement. FICORA has no legal powers to oblige postal operators to deliver the postal items of all persons over 75 years of age to apartment-specific mail drops or in the immediate vicinity of the apartment. FICORA regrets that Itella no longer complies with the procedures agreed upon in the delivery guidelines, which have provided better delivery services for persons over 75 years of age. Itella's new approach clearly weakens the access of certain mail recipients over 75 years of age to the service. In addition, Itella's one-sided notification of its failure to comply with the guidelines weakens the trust both mail recipients and authorities have in the delivery guidelines, which may, in the future, clearly reduce the significance of the guidelines in settling differences concerning delivery methods. Further information: Merja Saari, Deputy Director, Communications Services Supervision, tel. +358 9 6966 468, tel. +358 50 386 1771

Generation gap in the use of telecom services

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:07:00 +0200

Different age groups have different focus in their use of telecommunications services. About 90 per cent of persons under 45 years of age have a broadband access at home but only ten per cent have a fixed-line telephone. Correspondingly, only every fourth consumer who is over 65 years old has a broadband access, but every second user still has a fixed-line telephone. In the 2009 survey, a total of 65 per cent of households had access to broadband, which is about as much as in 2008. Also in 2009, only 25 per cent of households had a fixed-line telephone. This is 5 per cent less than in 2008. 75 per cent of respondents only used a mobile phone. Examined by region, Northern Finland (Provinces of Oulu and Lapland) accounted for the biggest share of broadband subscriptions, 71 per cent of households, and the Province of Western Finland the smallest, 61 per cent. The Provinces of Western and Southern Finland had the biggest share of fixed-line subscriptions, 28 per cent of households, and the Province of Eastern Finland the smallest, 15 per cent of households. The number of mobile broadband subscriptions has continued to grow strongly. At the end of 2009, 15 per cent of the respondents had a mobile broadband subscription, while the share in 2008 was eight per cent. Practically everyone in Finland has a mobile phone; 99 per cent according to the survey. Twelve per cent of the respondents had acquired a 3G tie-in sales subscription. This is slightly less than in 2008. Suomen Kyselytutkimus Oy, commissioned by FICORA, carried out the survey on the use of telecommunications services by interviewing 2 000 consumers between 15 to 79 years of age in mainland Finland in September and October 2009. The survey on the use of telecommunications services 2009 [PDF, 197 KB] (in Finnish). Some key statistics [PDF, 1014 KB]. Further information: Torsti Alhava, Communications Market Specialist, tel. +358 9 6966 461, +358 50 514 8285 Joonas Orkola, Communications Market Specialist, tel. +358 9 6966 734, +358 40 468 6018

FICORA's CERT-FI annual review 2009 Malware was spreading widely

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:48:00 +0200

In 2009, the Conficker malware spread to millions of computers but it did not cause a lot of damage. Various kinds of malware were primarily used to steal users' personal data. Malware was spread through hacked websites and e-mail, but also to a specific and carefully restricted group of recipients. Finnish organisations were targets, too. Intensified cooperation with international players Successful prevention of activities that endanger information network security requires international cooperation between the various parties. Regulators, operators and the information security community have succeeded in their cooperation for combating the spread of malware. An example from autumn 2009 is a denial-of-service attack with global effects. Thanks to the good international cooperation, it was possible to take quick measures to limit the impacts of the attack and resolve the case. European CERT players in comparison CERT-FI finalised its study on the European CERT players. The results of the first-of-its-kind study in Europe have also aroused interest at international level. The study found that capabilities for a successful CERT work vary to a rather great extent between the European countries. In addition, FICORA has provided international expert advice for example in Africa where national CERT work was being set up. Future prospects Information security in social network services will require more attention due to the fact that these services are being used for hoaxing or spreading of malware. Mobile phones will also be increasingly tempting for malpractice. CERT-FI publishes a quarterly overview of information security, which deals with the most significant threats to information security. The objective of the reviews is to support companies and organisations in their attempts to improve the management of information security risks. The CERT-FI information security annual review 2009 is available in Finnish on the CERT-FI website at www.cert.fi. An English version will be published soon. Further information: Ari Husa, Information Security Adviser, tel. +358 9 6966 842, +358 40 722 3130 Erka Koivunen, Head of CERT-FI, tel. +358 50 309 8094

Supreme Administrative Court dismissed TV operators' appeal against the pricing of analogue broadcasting services

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:11:00 +0200

In its decision issued today, the Supreme Administrative Court (later Court) has taken the view that there is no longer reason to examine the pricing of analogue television broadcasting services. In this respect, the TV operators' appeal against the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority's (FICORA) decision has been dismissed. The Court ruled that it no longer is possible to tackle Digita's analogue pricing. Moreover, when the case was being processed at FICORA, it was, in fact, not possible to solve it as provided in the Communications Market Act. Instead, the Court remitted the case concerning the pricing and grounds of certain digital television broadcasting services to FICORA for review. In order to be able to make its own assessment, the Court needs more precise reasons to support why FICORA is of the view that the pricing of these services is cost-oriented and therefore acceptable. As requested by the Court, FICORA will issue a new decision on the pricing of digital television broadcasting services without delay. The case concerning the pricing of analogue broadcasting services is still being investigated by the Finnish Competition Authority. FICORA transferred the case to the Finnish Competition Authority in the spring of 2008. Further information: Johanna Juusela, Director, tel. +358 9 6966 878, +358 40 542 7132 Marja Lehtimäki, Head of Communications Market Supervision tel. +358 9 6966 857, +358 50 320 5181

Communication is the most important reason why the young use the internet

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:16:00 +0200

Torsti Alhava, Communications Market Specialist, tel. +358 9 6966 461, +358 50 514 8285 Joonas Orkola, Communications Market Specialist, tel. +358 9 6966 734, +358 40 468 6018