re: Let’s get this clear once and for all: the internet is NOT a utility

Well, that is your opinion.

In Europe people think that because of the importance of it, it is a utlity.

The ID card plays a key role in almost every innovative e-service in Estonia. It can authenticate identity and also provide a digital signature. The weight of the signature is backed by Estonian law making it legally-binding. To minimise risk, the system uses suitably hefty encryption, with only a minimum of private data kept on the ID card. Lost cards can be conveniently cancelled and in over a decade no breaches of security have been reported.

So with all this connectedness it's not surprising that wireless internet is almost everywhere in Estonia, and almost always free and speedy. Wireless internet access points can be found in most public locations: parks, squares, pubs, cafés, restaurants, airports, trains, bus stations and often it's even possible to access the internet in what seems a remote location, on a beach or in a forest. Estonia is currently also implementing plans to connect up the country to the next-generation broadband network with a transmission speed up to 100 Mbit/s by the year of 2018.
"You've become a model for how citizens can interact with their government in the 21st century."
- Barack Obama in Tallinn, September 2014
Estonia's progress in this area has not gone unnoticed especially its achievements regarding transparency and accessibility in government, Estonia has positioned itself as a champion of e-governance. A position they endeavour to reciprocate, various NGO's such as the e-governance academy promote collaborations between Estonia and other countries particularly in Central, Eastern Europe and in Africa.

Other ways in which Estonia is sharing its successes is the recently launched, and a world first, e-residency program. "e-Residency offers to every world citizen a government-issued digital identity and the opportunity to run a trusted company online, unleashing the world's entrepreneurial potential." says Kaspar Korjus, e-Residency Programme Manager. The total number of e-Estonians, i.e. e-residents, all over the world, is expected to be 10 million by 2025.

Estonian programmers have been behind the creation of digital brands such as Skype, Hotmail and more recently Transferwise (a online currency converter which has attracted investment from the likes of Richard Branson). Estonia has declared internet access a human right, it has a thriving IT start up culture and has digitally streamlined an unprecedented number of public services for citizens and businesses.

The roots of this revolution began in 1991, the year of Estonian independence, Estonian policy makers were given the rare gift of a bureaucratic clean slate. Placing their faith in the burgeoning possibilities of the internet and value of innovation, they steered the country into a position where it could leapfrog to become one of the most advanced e-societies in the world.