This week the largest Estonian power grid company Elektrilevi has started collecting applications for connection to the fast Internet network. The goal is to get a holistic picture throughout Estonia, which will assist in more accurate sensing of the demand for the construction of the fast internet network

Applications for connection to a fast Internet network can be submitted by all residents of Estonia, without the need to be an Elektrilevi customer. Collection of requests is carried out through the home page.

"Next year we want to start building an open fast Internet network, and for this we need preliminary and most accurate information about where in Estonia fast Internet is needed," - said Taavo Randna, member of the Elektrilevi management board.

Applications are just one of the factors that will have an impact on Elektrilevi's development decisions. "We’re going to plan a fast Internet network basing on applications. But before investing, we shall take into account other circumstances, for example, the construction of a communication network is very effective if we do this together with the renewal of the power grid. We will also consider the available opportunities for obtaining Internet services, and in this case the priority will remain for regions where to date the Internet either does not exist or its speed is very low," - Randna said. He added that upon analyzing the collected information, it will become clear in more detail, to what extent and where Elektrilevi will build the network.

Collection of requests will be conducted until the end of August 2018. Startinh in autumn, a more accurate nationwide Estonian investment schedule will be developed. The network is planned to be completed within a five-year period.

The fast Internet network that Elektrilevi builds will be open to all communications service providers. This means that all operators can offer the Internet service through this network. The Elektrilevi company itself will not sell any Internet services.

Within the framework of several pilot projects in 2018, Elektrilevi is testing the possibilities of establishing an open fast Internet network. Currently, works are underway to build an open communications network in the course of power grid maintenance work in Tallinn, in the Veskimetsa area, where the contract for the delivery of Internet services is concluded with four telecom operators.

The enterprise hopes that it will be able to begin construction of a nationwide Estonian fast Internet network already in 2019.

"We are building a fast Internet network on our transmission lines. Thanks to combined efforts on the construction of two coupled infrastructures, we shall save money and will be able to quickly finish constructing the fast Internet network,"- Randna added. The permanent connection based on the optical cable is qualitative, it depends less on the weather and enables the Internet speed of up to 1 Gbit/sec.

Elektrilevi is the largest power distribution enterprise in Estonia, with the largest integrated power grid, managing approximately 60 000 kilometers of power transmission lines and 24 000 substations.