PL: Government promises free internet
The Polish Government is planning to offer free internet connections to disadvantaged members of society in a bid to ensure that all citizens can have equal access to the constantly growing array of public services now available on-line.
The Polish Ministry of Regional Development and the Ministry of Interior and Administration plan to allocate EUR4 billion between them, from 2007-2013, to the development of the Information Society.
Around EUR800 million of this will go to providing free internet access to people in the lowest income brackets. The data transfer rate of the free lines will be 144 kb/s, which should be sufficient to make use of the many advantages of the "Net" including, of course, eGovernment services.
Anna Stevanska, chairperson of the Electronic Communication Office said her agency is negotiating for the service with the leading Polish telecommunications company, Telekomunikacja Polska. The aim is to enable people in need to use a "social subscription plan", which will include a free internet connection. This will be a real breakthrough in the IT development of the country, she notes.
A further EUR700 million will be spent on developing IT resources within public administrations offices. The overall amount invested is significantly higher than originally intended but the participating ministries have decided to allocate additional funds in the hope that they will receive co-support from European funds.
