Cultural Blog Post #1

1. What have you learned about telecommunications in Finland? Which wireless technologies do they use to connect the whole country? 

It seemed like no matter where we traveled, when we asked residents of Finland how their cell phone coverage was, the results were surprisingly positive. From Helsinki to Espoo, and even in Vaasa, nobody seemed to have any problems with the cellular coverage. 

According to opensignal.com, the best cellular coverage is located in the lower half of the country, most likely due to the fact that this is where the majority of its residents are:

These large areas are mainly made up of companies like Alcom, DNA, Elisa, Telia Company, and Nokia. On top of that, it seems like they all operate primarily using 4G coverage, while still covering their bases with 3G. By using the Open Signal app, I was able to see the percentage of time I was successfully connected to a cellular network, as well as what kind of coverage I was using. I was also able to see all the cell towers around me, and who they were owned by:

Each of the blue pins says "Elisa", which is a telecommunications company

What I've noticed about Finland is that it seems to be on the leading edge of utilizing telecommunications efficiently. Back in the United States, places like Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama have terrible coverage. Meanwhile, Vaasa is a small city in the middle of nowhere that lies on the west coast of Finland, yet it maintains excellent coverage. This is done by a digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and a vast cellular tower spread. Because of this, Finland could be recognized as one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world when it comes to telecommunications. Also, with big name companies like Nokia residing in Finland, when the next wave of communication rolls out, 5G, Finland could most likely be the first country to develop it nation-wide.