EstWin
Encyclopedia
EstWin is a project undertaken by Estonia
to make 100 Mbit/s wideband
internet accessible to every citizen of Estonia by 2015. The development project will be supervised by the Estonian Broadband Development Foundation, which was founded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL) on 11 August 2009. The total cost of the EstWin project is estimated to be 6 billion Estonian kroon
s (384 million euro
s), a quarter of which is expected to come from the structural funds of European Union
. This makes EstWin the biggest project ever signed between the public and private sectors of Estonia.
EstWin has been undertaken first and foremost for economic growth. Several studies have reached the conclusion that a 10% increase in the broadband connection coverage in a country will increase the gross national product by 1.2–1.5%. Development of broadband Internet connections will improve the competitiveness of regions and the country as well as improving the quality of life of people and increasing the productivity by up to 50%.
In the first stage of EstWin, 6640 kilometres (4,125.9 mi) of fiber-optic cables of base network will be installed and more than 1,400 connection points will be constructed by 2012. The aim is to have 98% of the residential houses, businesses and authorities located closer than 1.5 km (0.93205910497471 mi) from the nearest connection point. This stage of the project will give work to 400 people and will cost an estimated 1.5 billion kroons (96 million euros), most of which will come from European structure funds. The network connection will reach the end user from the network access point either by fiber-optic
or existing copper cable; in difficult cases a wireless connection
will be used.
In years 2012–2015 the data transfer speeds will be increased, so that the end users connected through the fiber-optic cabling will get speeds up to 2.5 gigabits, those with copper a speed of up to a 100 megabits and those connecting through wireless at either 42 or 100 megabits per second depending on the technology.
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
to make 100 Mbit/s wideband
Wideband
In communications, wideband is a relative term used to describe a wide range of frequencies in a spectrum. A system is typically described as wideband if the message bandwidth significantly exceeds the channel's coherence bandwidth....
internet accessible to every citizen of Estonia by 2015. The development project will be supervised by the Estonian Broadband Development Foundation, which was founded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL) on 11 August 2009. The total cost of the EstWin project is estimated to be 6 billion Estonian kroon
Estonian kroon
In 1992, coins were introduced in denominations of 5, 10, 20 & 50 senti, as well as 1 kroon. The 1 kroon was struck in cupronickel, the others in aluminum-bronze. However, in 1997, nickel-plated steel 20 senti were introduced, followed by aluminum-bronze 1 kroon in 1998. 5 senti coins were not...
s (384 million euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s), a quarter of which is expected to come from the structural funds of European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. This makes EstWin the biggest project ever signed between the public and private sectors of Estonia.
EstWin has been undertaken first and foremost for economic growth. Several studies have reached the conclusion that a 10% increase in the broadband connection coverage in a country will increase the gross national product by 1.2–1.5%. Development of broadband Internet connections will improve the competitiveness of regions and the country as well as improving the quality of life of people and increasing the productivity by up to 50%.
In the first stage of EstWin, 6640 kilometres (4,125.9 mi) of fiber-optic cables of base network will be installed and more than 1,400 connection points will be constructed by 2012. The aim is to have 98% of the residential houses, businesses and authorities located closer than 1.5 km (0.93205910497471 mi) from the nearest connection point. This stage of the project will give work to 400 people and will cost an estimated 1.5 billion kroons (96 million euros), most of which will come from European structure funds. The network connection will reach the end user from the network access point either by fiber-optic
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
or existing copper cable; in difficult cases a wireless connection
Wireless network
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...
will be used.
In years 2012–2015 the data transfer speeds will be increased, so that the end users connected through the fiber-optic cabling will get speeds up to 2.5 gigabits, those with copper a speed of up to a 100 megabits and those connecting through wireless at either 42 or 100 megabits per second depending on the technology.