Finland is laying down fiber internet cables at an unprecedented pace. New providers are enticing customers with lightning-fast connections, lower prices than traditional players, and no setup fees – as long as you sign a fixed-term contract. And why not? There’s real demand for faster internet, and digging comes with the territory.
But take a walk down the street and you’ll see what else comes bundled with those promotional deals. Roads are being ripped open in every direction, sidewalks are torn apart, and roadside verges are left poorly patched. The restoration work is often embarrassingly subpar. And more often than not, it doesn’t stop with one round of digging – the same stretches get opened up again as competing providers refuse to coordinate trenching, despite public recommendations to do so.
It feels like the backhoe – not just the project – has spun out of control. Streets get dug up over and over as different companies come in at different times to lay their own fiber lines, while other municipal infrastructure projects proceed on their own separate timelines. In practice, no one seems to be coordinating the big picture. Municipalities can recommend joint trenching, but they can’t require it. And at the end of a messy subcontracting chain, with excavator operators rotating between jobs, no one is truly accountable for the condition the street is left in.
A low-cost fiber internet provider hires the cheapest main contractor, who hires an even cheaper subcontractor, who then outsources the finishing work to the lowest bidder. With responsibility this fragmented, is it any surprise that the street never looks the same again? And oversight? That’s a luxury many towns can’t afford. In recent months, several municipalities have admitted they simply don’t have the resources to inspect every job site afterwards.
So we’re left with hastily patched asphalt, sunken or raised road sections, and sidewalks that resemble geological dig sites. As a bonus, we now have a slew of unofficial speed bumps across town. On the bright side, traffic may slow down – and if it doesn’t, at least repair shops and auto parts stores will see a boost in revenue.
Of course, building a fiber internet network is complex, and not everything can be done invisibly. But is it too much to ask that if a street is opened up, it’s also properly closed? That the sidewalk leading to school, work, assisted living, or the playground doesn’t become a permanent pothole tribute to your neighbor Erkki’s bargain broadband deal?
The law requires those digging to restore the area to its original – or better – condition. Municipalities can demand proper remediation. But when permit terms stay on paper and inspections happen “eventually” – if at all – promises of restoration are often just that: promises.
Ordering high-speed internet takes just a few clicks. Fixing the roads afterward? That can take months – or never happen at all. Maybe it’s time to ask: are we building the digital network of the future – or the infrastructure headache of tomorrow?