This article contains elements from reports prepared by the National Institute of Telecommunications in Warsaw as part of the multi-annual program titled: “Development of Telecommunications and Postal Services in the Information Society Era.” These reports are intended to be published in their entirety on the Ministry of Transport’s websites.
Recently, there has been much talk about the expansion of the Internet as the primary medium of human communication, and there is no doubt that this focus is justified. In this regard, the authors of the article will attempt to answer questions about the pace of development of network access in Poland, the existence of potential barriers hindering the dynamics of Internet growth, and the directions of its use. The starting point for these considerations was a study conducted by the Central Statistical Office (GUS), in which respondents were asked about the reason for not having Internet access. The responses obtained were primarily economic reasons, such as expensive computer equipment and the cost of access, as well as reasons related to personal conditions, such as a lack of need and a lack of skills. The results of the survey are shown in Chart 1.
When analyzing Chart 1, one should not confuse “lack of need” with “aversion to the Internet,” as this category was also included in the study and stood at 2%. The quantitative changes presented in Chart 1 show that reasons on the mental side of respondents are much harder to change than material factors. This is a dangerous phenomenon, as it indicates the syndrome of the formation or perhaps the growing presence of so-called digital exclusion. This exclusion will mainly affect the elderly, those with lower levels of education, and those with low income levels. Minimizing this phenomenon will not be possible without the intervention of the state and non-governmental organizations, consisting mainly of launching educational programs. Without such actions, an e-society cannot be built. The situation has improved more in the area of economic possibilities for accessing the Internet in households. These results, especially regarding access costs, would be even better if the study had been conducted in the third and fourth quarters of 2006, when Internet providers practically abandoned connection fees and launched promotions that reduced prices by more than half. The purchase of computer equipment remains a significant limitation. This is illustrated in Chart 2, using Spain (a country often compared to Poland due to its similar size and population), the EU-25 average, and newly admitted countries as a comparison.
As can be noted, in 2006 every ninth European, and in 2007 every eighth, will enjoy a new personal computer, while only every 19th and 18th Pole, respectively, will do so. If all of them reach private hands, the increase in the number of households with a computer would amount to 1.6 million. However, we do not know how much of this equipment will be purchased for institutions, companies, and schools, and how much will be intended for replacing equipment already in use. The comparison of this sector looks even worse when we compare the total number of personal computers purchased over five years, from 2002 to 2007. Spain, like Poland, is at the level of purchasing 22-26 computers per 100 inhabitants, while in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland, the purchase rate will be at the level of 80 PCs. It may be comforting that in wealthier countries, equipment replacement occurs much more frequently and most purchases are related to this phenomenon, whereas in less affluent countries, most new equipment reaches new users. The number of Internet users is also growing significantly, as shown in Chart 3.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 1/2007.