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The First Call of Many: Estonia and Finland share the first 5G call
Cooperation between Estonia and Finland is shown once again this week, as both countries continue to be great examples in the innovation of telecommunication. On June 27th, the Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure, Kadri Simson, and the Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications, Anne Berner, made the world’s first 5G video call using a 3.5 GHz frequency.
5G connections facilitate the creation of new types of applications, with 10 times faster speeds of mobile internet – during Wednesday’s call between the two ministers the speed reached 2.2 gigabits per second. A strong 5G network could soon have constructive impacts in Estonia: “Our country is already contributing to the development of self-driving vehicles, and without a 5G connection it is difficult to organize automated movement based on artificial intelligence on the roads,” the Minister Kadri Simson remarked.
This article was originally published in Baltic Course. Read the full article here.
Estonia to enrol 100 startups from India
With programs like e-Residency, it comes as no surprise that Estonia tops the World Economic Forum’s list of most entrepreneurial countries. e-Residency has already attracted thousands of entrepreneurs from over 140 countries across the globe. In its latest developments, Riho Kruuv, the Republic of Estonia’s ambassador to India, has announced that Estonia plans to enroll over 100 startups and freelancers from the Indian state of Gujrat in 2018. Kruuv stated: “We see huge potential in Gujarat and the state is one our key focus markets for this year. We are keen to work closely together with the entrepreneurs from the state and help create a sustainable startup ecosystem in the state.”
The move would empower Indian micro-business and freelancers to develop in EU markets and will illustrate the utility of e-Residency. With over 1,600 e-Residents from India already, Estonia anticipates an even larger enrollment of Indian citizens in the coming years; thereby strengthening the economic and diplomatic ties between Estonia and India.
This article was originally published in The Economic Times. Read the full article here.
A digitalized life
The e-Estonian story has been featured on one of the major Argentinian daily newspapers. The President, Kersti Kaljulaid, highlighted how the nation’s first steps after the restoration of independence were guided by a strong will of building a democratic, modern, and efficient state: “The idea of the future was to take advantage of the innovative potential of ICTs, but nobody knew 25 years ago how important the Internet would be in the organization of the State and society.”
Nowadays, interactions between the State and the citizens require minimal effort and bureaucracies; as it turns out, technology was and is a catalyst for a change. In a broader picture, “citizens are the center of the system”, which not only means “good quality of public services, but it also means having a voice in what they expect from their representatives”, Kaljulaid said.
This article was originally published in La Nacion. Read the full article (in Spanish) here.