Free high speed internet

[primuszoon]

So, I recently moved to Finland and I got a job contract. The job contract says that the company will provide me with internet so I am able to work from home.

I checked for our apartment, and according to our housing company (Lumo) I have a basic internet (10Mbps) connection included in the rent (they don't state the value, and market it as free I assume ). I have the option to upgrade my internet connection to 100Mbps with either DNA or Telia.
So far so good, so I tested our internet connection speed and it shows: 100Mbps.. like oh ok? I don't complain cause I don't pay for it. When I check my ISP (whatsmyip) I get Telia. So I guess the connection from the previous person living in this flat, is still active somehow.

Now I have some questions regarding what I should do:

• Do I just do nothing? This just feels like I can suddenly get a retroactive bill for the high speed internet I got but never asked for.
• Or do I make everything official? And hope that my employer pays the extra charge to get 100Mbps (cause 10Mbps is just a bit too slow, 50 would be ok), or is an employer only allowed/willing to pay for the basic speed (which is 'free' in my case).

[betelgeuse]

Now I have some questions regarding what I should do:

• Do I just do nothing? This just feels like I can suddenly get a retroactive bill for the high speed internet I got but never asked for.
• Or do I make everything official? And hope that my employer pays the extra charge to get 100Mbps (cause 10Mbps is just a bit too slow, 50 would be ok), or is an employer only allowed/willing to pay for the basic speed (which is 'free' in my case).

You are required to contact the operator to have the contract in your own name.

Employer are allowed to pay for whatever speed. If it's not necessary or not used for work purposes, it's taxed as a fringe benefit.

[FinlandGirl]

You are required to contact the operator to have the contract in your own name.

Lumo should have told whether this is necessary or whether they are taking care of that.

I have a basic internet (10Mbps) connection included in the rent (they don't state the value, and market it as free I assume ).

The value is close to 0.
The regular price for 100 Mb/s internet are the same 10 Euro/month it costs for you to upgrade to 100 Mb/s, mobile subscriptions with 100 Mb/s and unlimited traffic cost around 25 Euro.

And hope that my employer pays the extra charge to get 100Mbps (cause 10Mbps is just a bit too slow, 50 would be ok), or is an employer only allowed/willing to pay for the basic speed (which is 'free' in my case).

Talk with your employer, since your employer offered to pay for your internet (which is an unusual benefit) it is unlikely that they would not be willing to pay the 10 Euro/month for an upgrade to 100 Mb/s.

[betelgeuse]

You are required to contact the operator to have the contract in your own name.

Lumo should have told whether this is necessary or whether they are taking care of that.

Would be a nice service, however they have no obligation to do so. In case they are not allowed to transfer any contracts.

[FinlandGirl]

You are required to contact the operator to have the contract in your own name.

Lumo should have told whether this is necessary or whether they are taking care of that.

Would be a nice service, however they have no obligation to do so. In case they are not allowed to transfer any contracts.

Lumo is the company that sold the basic internet connection to the end customer.

[betelgeuse]

Lumo should have told whether this is necessary or whether they are taking care of that.

Would be a nice service, however they have no obligation to do so. In case they are not allowed to transfer any contracts.

Lumo is the company that sold the basic internet connection to the end customer.

I don’t know how it works with Lumo specifically but usually even with the included speed you still have to make a contract with the ISP.

[heretostay]

They shouldn’t be able to bill you for something you never agreed to and in theory might not have even known that you had at all. That said, my home internet clocks in at above what my subscription tier is. So I would say consider yourself lucky and they don’t have a leg to stand on to bill you later for something you never ordered.

[betelgeuse]

They shouldn’t be able to bill you for something you never agreed to and in theory might not have even known that you had at all. That said, my home internet clocks in at above what my subscription tier is. So I would say consider yourself lucky and they don’t have a leg to stand on to bill you later for something you never ordered.

The ISP wouldn’t but the person who currently pays the bill would.

[riku2]

I tested our internet connection speed and it shows: 100Mbps.. like oh ok? I don't complain cause I don't pay for it. When I check my ISP (whatsmyip) I get Telia. So I guess the connection from the previous person living in this flat, is still active somehow.

Just because the connection is telia and it's faster than the promised free connection doesn't mean the previous owner is still paying.
The free connection will show as Telia also and when you sign up for higher speed they remotely provision a policy rule increasing the speed to what you have paid for. So the name Telia from whatsmyip doesn't imply a paid for connection.
Then the speed rule might only apply when the traffic for the whole building is at a certain level, so you would pay for 100Mbps minimum regardless of what others are doing. A free connection might be quicker than 10Mbps in some situations. And finally there might be nobody paying but the technology has gone wrong. Even if paying for 100Mbps increases the speed perhaps the contract is cancelled, nobody is paying for your higher speed but the command to lower the speed back to 10Mbps failed. I would not make a fuss to get Telia to check it and perhaps resend it or send a person to lower the speed.

[FinlandGirl]

Then the speed rule might only apply when the traffic for the whole building is at a certain level, so you would pay for 100Mbps minimum regardless of what others are doing.

All numbers are maximum numbers for downstream (upstream is slower).
With a 100Mb/s connection it is rarely a problem that the speed is much slower due to local reasons.

I'd also be curious whether traffic and subscriptions for wired internet in households are already going down in Finland, there is often no reason paying for an additional internet connection when your smartphone can be a WiFi access point for using mobile data from other devices.

A free connection might be quicker than 10Mbps in some situations.

Enforcing an upper limit is trivial, it is hard to imagine why an ISP would not do that.

[primuszoon]

Thanks all for the replies, what I can conclude is:

• They can't charge me for what I didn't ask
• Nobody else is paying for what I get.
• I should check with my employer what exactly they would pay for.
• In case my employer pays for 100Mbps (or more) upgrade, I can make it official, otherwise, I just act like I don't know anything and keep on surfing.

[agroot]

• Nobody else is paying for what I get.
• I should check with my employer what exactly they would pay for.
• In case my employer pays for 100Mbps (or more) upgrade, I can make it official, otherwise, I just act like I don't know anything and keep on surfing.

If nobody is paying I don't see why you should ask. We have a similar benefit at work but it'd require monthly reporting which is kinda annoying for 10 euro. I upgraded 10mbps to 100mbps DNA myself and cancellation next day somehow cost me 17 instead of 10.

If it's like DNA you could try to apply on Telia website just to see the contract/speed? (a webpage letting you input address and showing the current speed)

Can confirm the speed is higher, for both my broadband and previous telia mobile. I usually get 1.4-1.5MB/s download for 10mbps.

[FinnGuyHelsinki]

• They can't charge me for what I didn't ask
• In case my employer pays for 100Mbps (or more) upgrade, I can make it official, otherwise, I just act like I don't know anything and keep on surfing.

Not exactly. In the law there is a concept of "unlawful gain" (oikeudeton hyöty), meaning that if someone is getting and keeps receiving some benefit - monetary or otherwise - they know they are not entitled to, they are committing a fraud. Another question is whether the Internet provider will act on it, beyond slowing down the connection speed back to what it's supposed to be when or if they find out. Probably not. Still, clearly you're aware that you're getting a higher speed than you should be, in order to act in accordance with the law, you should notify the Internet provider of the matter. In principle it is the same if you'd be getting small transfers to your bank account each month, not knowing where they originate from, you're bound by law to notify your bank. That's the legal aspect of it. Whether you want to be dishonest if you think you'll get away with it, that's something else.