Minister briefs Estonian parlt on Digital Society Development Plan

TALLINN – At Tuesday's sitting of the Riigikogu, MPs received an overview of Estonia's digital society development plan for the period until 2030. 

Introducing the development plan to lawmakers, Andres Sutt, minister of entrepreneurship and information technology, said that Estonia has created a unique ecosystem that is difficult to copy, and digital has helped us to be larger than could be expected judging by population size or the size of our economy.

In order to continue to be a pioneer, it is not enough just to try and improve what one already has, but customer focus and the introduction of the latest technology are needed.

"And all this in a cyber-secure way. These are the principles that have guided our new Digital Society Development Plan," Sutt said.

The minister elaborated on the three sub-objectives set out in the development plan: the development of the digital state, connectivity, and cyber security.

In the field of the digital state, the development plan focuses on the quality of public services and public administration, which marks the next stage of maturity and development of the digital state.

"While so far, the focus has been on making the public sector more efficient through the use of IT, we are now shifting the focus to creating value for people in terms of user experience," Sutt said.

As regards connectivity, the minister said that the goal is simple: by 2030, ultra-fast, reliable and affordable access to communication will be available across Estonia regardless of location.

"To this end, we will improve the availability of communications services and the affordability of linking up to the network through the development of access networks in rural areas. It is important to develop 5G base infrastructure and service delivery in order to be ready for 6G in the future," he said.

Sutt described cyber security as the enabler of the digital society.

"Without it, there would be no trust, without which digital services would have no users and consequently no meaning and no impact. That is why cybersecurity aims to ensure that cyberspace is secure, trustworthy and resilient to cyber threats," he said.

The minister explained that the sum total necessary for the implementation of the plans is slightly over 1.2 billion euros over a period of ten years.