Digital sustainability

We secure people’s privacy in a safe and reliable digital environment

For us, in practice, digitalisation means e.g. more equal participation in society, a more equitable working life, a more flexible work culture, more resource-efficient operations and better productivity. With data, we can automate operations, deliver better services, and create new and innovative solutions.

We also understand the challenges that digitalisation and electronical operations may cause.  Cybersecurity is necessity for individuals, services and products. Thus, the reliability, data security and privacy of our ICT services and processes are even more important. We have over 2.8 million consumer, corporate and public administration organisation customers who we serve in Finland, Estonia and internationally. A profound understanding of our stakeholders’ needs is a prerequisite for developing our services to comply with their changing needs. 

Elisa Trust Center

Our goal is to operate transparently and to construct a positive cybersecurity culture throughout society as a whole. We also want to proactively block a wide range of criminal activity and scam attempts, and to develop new ways of combating the increasingly diverse threats. 

Elisa Trust Center webpage gathers the most relevant aspects of our operations and describes how Elisa constructs and develops its cybersecurity operations. 

Elisa trust center

Opportunities and challenges from data and AI

Data is at the core of our business and one of the key enablers of our mission. In addition to automation, machine learning and artificial intelligence offer tremendous opportunities for developing operating models, smart data and data usage, as well as services and service experiences.

We are also developing solutions utilising AI for our customers. 

In order to learn, we are continuously implementing pilot projects where we study, for instance, opportunities to improve the user experience for our customers with AI-based applications and services. 

We have identified the inherent challenges of AI and introduced Elisa’s Ethical Principles for Data and Artificial Intelligence, which are used in both responsible and smart data usage and in the development of AI applications, as well as in training courses.  

Well-functioning society and safe services

Our task and important role in Finnish and Estonian society is to ensure comprehensive and reliable mobile and data communication connections and a securely functioning society. We comply with the universal service obligation defined in legislation in both Finland and Estonia.

Utilisation of digital services requires a reliable and ever-faster nationwide network. We measure the coverage and availability of our network with a population coverage indicator. In addition to that, we track an independent study of operators’ network coverage in Finland conducted by ECE Ltd.

Our investments in information networks in Finland and in Estonia enable operational reliability and speed improvements of digital services.

Construction of mast, base and broadcasting stations require municipal permits and good cooperation with municipal and private apartment buildings and landowners. We utilise sites shared with other industry operators for our base stations. More than half of our base stations are situated in shared sites.

Continuous scanning and analysing of our information networks enable our proactive approach in management of disturbances. Over 99% of incidents are prevented with automation.

Using mobile networks is safe

We ensure the security and quality of our network and the mobile technology we use by operating our network ourselves, using automation solutions that we have developed. We also work closely with experts and operators in the field. We are an expert member of the Federation of Finnish Technology Industries advisory board on electromagnetic fields.

In Finland, the safety of mobile phone networks is monitored by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), whose decisions and regulations are based on scientific research findings. In Estonia, the authority is the Environmental Board of the Ministry of the Environment. Elisa constructs new base stations in accordance with regulations from the authorities and complies with laws and official regulations in all its operations. 

Elisa complies with all regulations from STUK and other authorities. All our new access points undergo a safety assessment to ensure that they are placed in a way that is safe for people and the environment.

Decisions made by the Finnish and Estonian authorities on the use of technology are based on the results of international academic research.

There are a number of international academic studies (both completed and ongoing) about the safety of radiofrequency radiation emitted by base stations and mobile phones. Based on the results of these studies, independent expert panels have concluded that, at present, there is no evidence that exposure1) below current maximum values would cause verified harmful health effects. The authority's decisions are based on the results of scientific research showing that base stations do not exceed the limit values for electromagnetic radiation.

The technology underlying 5G is not essentially different from earlier mobile technologies. The construction of 5G networks follows regulations from STUK. We carry out safety assessments for all new base stations.

Reliable information about the subject is available, for example, from these places:

STUK - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority
International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP)
World Health Organisation
GSMA EMF Exposure and Safety QA 
GSMA 5G animation video 
GSMA 2022 5G health related science and research report
Scientific reviews conducted by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) and Swinburne University of Technology on health effects from the radio waves used in 5G (2021)


1) The SAR (specific absorption rate), a measure of the absorption rate of a radiofrequency emission device, is used to measure the effect of a radio wave on the tissues of the head or body. Its unit is W/kg. The maximum SAR value for mobile phones of 2 W/kg was established by Decree 294/2002 of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. The limit value is well below the exposure level that has been found to have an adverse effect. Mobile phones have been tested at STUK since 2003, and other devices have been tested since 2013. The SAR values of the measured phones and terminals have varied between 0.2 and 1.4 W/kg. No equipment tested at STUK has had an SAR value that exceeded the limit value. For exposure from mobile phones to the head, tests are performed according to the requirements of the international IEC 62209-1 standard.