Eastern European candidate states make progress on information society
Figures from recent surveys on the use of and spending on the Internet show healthy growth in some Eastern European candidate countries. The number of Internet users in Hungary, for example, is expected to double from 1.2 million users to 2.4 million users by 2004, meaning that a quarter of the country's population will be online by the time the country accedes to the European Union. The profile of users is also changing, as there are more women and rural-based users, meaning that the Internet is reaching some of those which the eEurope plan specified should not be excluded. The split between men and women users in the country is now almost equal. In the Czech Republic, spending on IT (information technology) has risen rapidly, reaching double digit growth. The Czech IT market is now predicted to be worth $1 billion by 2005 and is benefiting from the many IT providers who use it as a base for operations. Poland is also seeing increased spending, with a PricewaterhouseCoopers report claiming that annual spending on providing and procuring Internet access and online advertising will reach almost $1 billion by 2006. It also predicts that there will be a growth from 6.5 million Internet users in Poland today to 10 million by 2006. But calls have been made for more to be done. Speaking to biznesNet.pl a spokesperson from mobile network operator Polkomtel claimed that only 20 per cent of the Polish population are part of the information society and that the government needs to be more active. He highlighted that there is no minister responsible for the information society and said he feels the action plan designed to involve Poland in the information society by 2006 is too vague.