While AT&T is placing limits on their broadband customers, the people of Lithuania are celebrating news that the part-state-owned telephone company — Teo LT — is increasing broadband speeds for their customers at no additional charge.

Effective May 16th, Internet speeds of up to 300Mbps will be available from the phone company ISP – Zebra.

Teo LT has installed fiber to the home service for nearly half of Lithuania’s million-plus households, and expects to serve the majority of the Baltic nation with fiber within the next decade.  Much of the rest of the country gets DSL service.

With the speed upgrade, Lithuanians will be able to access foreign websites at the same speeds as international websites.

Lithuania is one of three Baltic states north of Poland, formerly annexed as part of the Soviet Union.

Currently, Lithuania considers its lowest quality light user plan 10/10Mbps, which it sells for a paltry $14.72 a month, for unlimited access.  But international websites used to arrive at much slower speeds under this plan — 1Mbps.  That’s why many Lithuanians chose higher speed offerings.  Now, for around $55 a month, they’ll receive 40/40Mbps service, potentially less when bundled with other products.

Lithuania sees fiber optics as their path to broadband prosperity, and seeks to retire copper wire DSL circuits as quickly as possible.  The company’s fiber network now reaches 86 percent of the capital city Vilnius, 95 percent of Klaipeda, 75 percent of Kaunas, and more than 50 percent of Panevėžys and Šiauliai.  The company, with its Swedish-owned partner Telia Sonera, has invested more than $140 million in building the network, designed to replace the country’s old copper wire telephone infrastructure now deemed obsolete.

Lithuania, formerly a Soviet Socialist Republic, declared its independence from the USSR in March, 1990 — the first Soviet Republic to do so.  Today, the country is a member of NATO and the European Union.  Lithuania has a long history of recognizing the importance of infrastructure tied to economic development, and has an extensive and modern transport system.  The country is treating broadband development much as they would treat roads and railways — as a long term investment.

The administration of President Dalia Grybauskaitė sees Lithuania’s future as a knowledge-based economy, and has restructured away from heavy industry and simple agriculture towards biotechnology and information technology businesses.

With the renewed telecommunications infrastructure, IBM built a major research center inside the country and last year Lithuania opened its first solar cell plant.  Lithuanians culturally are increasingly turning away from their former Russian occupiers and looking west, especially towards western Europe, Scandanavia and the United States.  At least one-third of Lithuanians have learned English a second language, according to a Eurobarometer survey conducted in 2005.