This article reports some preliminary findings from a Finnish study aiming at raising telecommunications management and cost awareness. The first phase of the project is an analysis of the current state of the art, conducted through questionnaire surveys following in-depth interviews. The Finnish Telecommunications Environment Operating telecommunication networks is in Finland a regulated business activity. Running voice networks necessitates a licence. In the case of running switched data communications one should just notify the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
General telecommunication means offering telecommunications services to an unlimited user group.
Council of State accords primarily the licence for general telecommunication. The Ministry of Transport and Communications can grant limited licenses. Finland is ahead of most other countries in Europe in the liberation of telecommunication markets. Finland is also one of the leading countries in the development of telecommunication techniques and new inventions. This can be explained by the exceptional history of Finnish telecommunications.