Estonia has in a short time caught up with advanced countries in terms of its infrastructure for information and communications technologies (ICT) and the use of ICT in society. Attitudes favouring ICT, innovative thinking and progressive ICT entrepreneurship have helped develop a strong technological infrastructure in Estonia. These factors combined with general economic growth as well as macroeconomic stability have created a favourable basis for further development.
 
Key facts

• 43 per cent of population are Internet users (EMOR, autumn 2002)
• 33 per cent of population have a computer at home, 68 per cent of home computers are connected to the Internet
• All Estonian schools are connected to the Internet
• There are about 500 Public Internet Access Points in Estonia, 36 per 100 000 people (one of the highest numbers in Europe)
• The number of Estonian websites exceeds one million
• Incomes can be declared to the Tax Board via Internet
• Expenditures made in state budget can be followed on the Internet in real-time
• The Government has changed Cabinet meetings to paperless sessions using a web-based document system
• 43 per cent of Estonian people conduct their everyday banking via Internet
• 61 per cent of the population are mobile phone subscribers
• All of Estonia is covered with digital mobile phone networks

Telecommunications
 
Considerable investments into high technology and communication networks involving foreign, mostly Nordic, investors have been made to modernise the ICT infrastructure in Estonia. As a result, the Estonian telecommunications sector is one of the most developed in Central and Eastern Europe.
 

	12/2000	12/2001	09/2002
Telephone main (fixed) lines per 100 inhabitants	35.9	34.9	34.3
Share of digital lines (%)	71.2	71.8	75.4
Number of mobile phone subscribers per 100 inhabitants	40.8	52	61

Sources: Estonian Telephone Company , Baltic News Service , Estonian Informatics Centre
 
In recent years the number of fixed phone lines has decreased, as many consumers switched from fixed phones to mobile phones. Meanwhile, new possibilities offered via fixed subscriber lines have come into service. In September 2002 there were 24,136 ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) Internet connections, i.e. 1.8 lines per 100 people. According to Point Topic, Estonia holds 12th position in the world by ADSL / regular phone line ratio. In addition to ADSL, wireless connections like WDSL and RDSL are offered to rural districts, and mobile phone users have GPRS Internet access throughout most of the country’s territory.
 
Main task of Estonian telecommunications policy is to ensure competition and openness in the field. The telecommunications sector has been completely liberalised since January 2001, when the special monopoly rights of the Estonian Telephone Company ended.
 
The main bodies in charge of the regulatory issues in the field of telecommunications are as follows: The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications; National Communications Board;National Competition Board
 
Internet
 
A survey conducted in autumn 2002 by EMOR indicates that 43 per cent of the Estonian population regard themselves as Internet users. Internet is used mainly at work, followed by school and home. Almost all public employees have computerized workplaces. At home a computer is owned by 33 per cent of the population and 68 per cent of home computers are connected to the Internet. 43 per cent of Estonian people conduct their everyday banking via Internet. Internet banking has become a common channel through which people perform transfers, pay for services, pay taxes, communicate with the Tax Board, etc. Access to various information and bank services through mobile phones using Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is popular, e.g. the financial institution Hansapank alone has 13 400 WAP-clients.
 
The high level of Internet use in Estonia is largely due to the early adoption of the Internet by the research and higher education sectors and due to the existence of a developed telecommunications network.
 
All Estonian schools are connected to the Internet, as a result of the state-run "Tiger Leap" program, implemented in years 1997-1999. Even the three-student schoolhouse on geographically isolated Ruhnu Island with about 40 inhabitants has the Internet connection. Thanks to the "Tiger Leap", school children are above-average users of the Internet. A short-term goal is to have at least 1 computer per 20 pupils in every school.
 
People all over the country can access the Internet from about 500 Public Internet Access Points (PIAP). The PIAP has special traffic sign with the @ symbol, showing its location.
 
Most PIAPs are located in libraries (288). There were 36 PIAPs per 100,000 people as of June 2002. One can easily locate the nearest PIAP at www.regio.delfi.ee/ipunktid. About 70 public locations (city squares, hotels, pubs, airports etc.) are currently covered with high-speed wireless Internet access. More information: www.wifi.ee.
 
According to the RIPE Network Coordination Centre, Estonia maintains the highest Internet connected hosts / population ratio in Central and Eastern Europe, and it is also ahead of most of the European Union countries.
 
E-Government and E-Society
 
In August 2000 the Government of Estonia, as a world pioneer, changed its cabinet meetings to paperless sessions using a web-based document system. The objective of the new web-based system is to automate the preparation processes and proceedings of the Cabinet meetings, which includes preparing as many materials as possible digitally and thus reducing copying costs and delivery time.
Ministers peruse draft bills and regulations, make comments and suggestions and vote entirely online at computer terminals. The system, coupled with the use of digital signatures, eliminates the need to send mountains of papers between ministries for consultation. It gives ministers a possibility to participate in the session from anywhere. The system, created by Estonian IT companies, saves approximately three million Estonian kroons (192 000 EUR) a year in paper and copying costs.
 
Already before the Government started e-sessions, an Internet portal was opened in 1998 and named the Estonian State Web Centre. It contains links to all government institutions’ websites, and everybody has access to almost all official documents there. Together with the powerful development of Internet services, the domain riik.ee has in four years become an inseparable part of the Estonian e-government and the symbol of Estonia on the Internet.
 
Current election laws include the e-voting option in the year 2005 and following elections, provided that all crucial technical issues (e.g. safeguarding against fraud) are solved by that time.
 
In summer 2001 the Government opened a web page Täna Otsustan Mina ("I Decide Today"). Ministries upload all their draft bills and amendments there, allowing people to review and make comments and proposals to the legislative process, as well as propose amendments to the existing legislation. Ideas gathering support among visitors will be taken for further processing by competent bodies.
 
The Government and a number of private companies announced a project in 2001 (Look @ World project), as a result of which the percentage of Internet users in Estonia should increase from the present level to over 90%, or exceed Finlands's corresponding indicator, within three years. The project focuses on further improvement in Internet access in Estonia, and private companies have announced that initially they are willing to invest a sum equal to the Government’s yearly IT budget.
 
Since January 2002, the Citizenship and Migration Board (www.pass.ee) has been issuing a new primary domestic identification document - the ID card. In addition to many advanced security features, the card has a machine-readable code and a microchip containing the visual data on the card and two security certificates (long number series), to verify the individual and supply digital signatures. Possible future uses of the card include integration of ID cards and banking cards and various access cards.
 
Education, Research and Development (R&D)
 
Three universities (University of Tartu, Tallinn Technical University and the Estonian Business School), a number of polytechnic education institutions and many training companies provide basic and specialised education in IT and IT management. In autumn 2000, the new IT College admitted its first 150 students.
 
IT College was created in 2000 as a co-operation project between the two largest Estonian public universities - Tallinn Technical University and Tartu University - and the Estonian ICT industry. The IT College is a private institution, it works very closely with both universities as well as with the IT and telecom industries.
 
The main advisory body to the Government in R&D is the Estonian Research and Development Council (RDC). Priority has been given to information technology, gene technology, environmental technology and material science. In developing new technologies, one of the most successful fields is also cryptography.
 
The Estonian Academy of Sciences is a unifying organisation on scientific competence. The Estonian Science Foundation, Innovation Foundation and Science Competence Council are involved in the financing of R&D. The vast majority of R&D is carried out in universities and public research institutes.
 
Estonian Information Policy
 
With its policies and innovative initiatives the Estonian Government is helping companies make the information technology sector one of the fastest growing in the country. According to a survey of 53 countries (issued in May 2001) by Washington based consulting firm McConnell International LLC, Estonia has a top rating in E-leadership, human capital and E-business climate.
 
The Principles of Estonian Information Policy approved by the Parliament in May 1998 serves as a basis for making public policy decisions concerning the information society. The policy document serves as a basis for an action plan for developing information society.
 
The Information Policy Action Plan in its turn is the basis for all government agencies to make specific proposals to the Government - proposals with schedules, sources of finances, and responsibilities for the implementation of information policy programs every year.
 
Information policy priorities for 2002/2003:

• development of services for citizens, the business sector and public administration, especially the elaboration of ID-card applications, proceeding also from the list of e-government services defined in the eEurope+ Action Plan, www.europa.eu.int/eEuropeplus;
• improvement of skills and the access of social groups in unequal position for using electronically provided services;
• elaboration and introduction of systems for digital document management and archival processing;
• development of the system and infrastructure of state registers, including the development of systems that ensure the maintenance of databases and the introduction of the data exchange layer (project "X-road") of information systems;
• better provision of schools with computers to achieve the ultimate goal – one computer per 20 students;
• launching of the Tiger University programme to support the development of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and academic ICT staff, and the infrastructure for post-graduate training.

Examples of ICT target programmes and joint projects financed from the last State budgets:
 
EEBone, the trunk network for public institutions that was launched in 1998, has reached its planned volume and is growing. The number of connected state and local government institutions has passed 850 (with over 11,000 computers),all the connected state institutions enjoy at least 2 Mbps connections (often even 10 Mbps and more), ministries and other bigger governmental institutions in Tallinn are provided with 100Mbps connections. EEBone is connected to other Estonian networks by a 1Gbps link.
 
Estonian language technology target programme (1995-2000): electronic dictionaries, thesauruses, speller programs, intermediate products for final products, such as morphological analyser, disambiguator, synthesiser, syntax analyser, etc.
 
eCitizen - a nation-wide project for developing the co-operation between Estonian citizens and the public sector through the Internet. By 2004 all state and local government agencies should be providing services through the Internet. More information: www.riik.ee/ekodanik/ecitizen.rtf.
 
Recently adopted legislation regulating the ICT field:
 
Public Information Act (2001)
 
Guarantees citizens’ constitutional right to information; regulates what information on the administrative apparatus and its activities is offered to the public; asserts that all information is accessible also through the Internet.
 
Digital Signatures Act (2000)
 
Stipulates the possibility to use digital signatures in public sector organisations as of June 1, 2001. The digital signature infrastructure is developed through the cooperation of the public sector and private sector organisations, such as banks and ICT vendors.
 
Telecommunications Act (2000)
 
The purpose of this act is to create favourable conditions for the development of telecommunications and to guarantee the protection of the users of telecommunications services by promoting free competition.
 
Other relevant legislation related to the information society include the Public Information Act, Digital Signatures Act, Telecommunications Act, Archives Act, Databases Act, Personal Data Protection Act, Population Register Act. English translations of these acts are available at www.legaltext.ee
 
Further information:

• Internet Sites of Information Society