Kouvola threatens fibre-optic firm with over €100,000 monthly fines for unfinished work

The city of Kouvola will impose fines of up to €100,000 per month on Global Connect if the fibre-optic company fails to complete outstanding repairs by the September deadline, public broadcaster Yle reports.

Unfinished landscaping, asphalt work, and improperly buried cables remain across multiple neighbourhoods where the firm carried out installations in 2024. The company must also submit a full survey of the affected areas by the end of June.

The largest single penalty—€20,000 per month from July—applies if the mapping requirement is not met. A further 19 unresolved issues, each incurring €4,800 monthly from October, bring the potential total to over €100,000. All fines will be paid to the state.

Kouvola’s technical board will finalise the decision on Wednesday.

Global Connect has acknowledged the deficiencies and pledged to complete all work by the city’s deadline. “We take the city’s findings seriously and will ensure the work meets required standards,” CEO Helena Bergstrand told Yle. The company is also reviewing its procedures to prevent similar issues in future.

Krista Mäkelä, a city specialist in land use, noted that incomplete infrastructure projects are a recurring problem in Kouvola, with near-daily complaints from residents. The municipality has begun systematic on-foot final inspections—the only reliable way to detect most defects—though it lacks resources to complete the work itself. Where temporary fixes have been made, costs have been billed back to the original contractors.