IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/telpol/v50y2026i7s0308596126000959.html

Rural connectivity inequalities in Finland and Sweden: Evidence, measures, and policy reflections

Author

Listed:
  • Bandaranayake, Sameera
  • Moradi, Amirreza
  • Suomalainen, Tanja
  • Saarnisaari, Harri
  • Karppinen, Pasi
  • Gupta, Payal
  • van de Beek, Jaap

Abstract

Persistent rural–urban disparities in broadband connectivity remain a major policy challenge, even in digitally advanced countries. This paper examines how these inequalities manifest in northern Finland and Sweden, where sparse populations, long distances, and seasonal variations in demand create persistent gaps in service quality and reliability. Drawing on survey data (n = 148), field interviews, and spatial analysis, the study documents how variability in connectivity shapes everyday life and work in Arctic rural communities.

Suggested Citation

  • Bandaranayake, Sameera & Moradi, Amirreza & Suomalainen, Tanja & Saarnisaari, Harri & Karppinen, Pasi & Gupta, Payal & van de Beek, Jaap, 2026. "Rural connectivity inequalities in Finland and Sweden: Evidence, measures, and policy reflections," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(7).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:50:y:2026:i:7:s0308596126000959
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2026.103245
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596126000959
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.telpol.2026.103245?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:50:y:2026:i:7:s0308596126000959. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.