Internet in Poland

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The term "Internet in Poland" refers to various aspects related to the state of the Internet in the Republic of Poland. This encompasses issues such as Internet access, governance, freedom, and infrastructure, as well as social, economic, and political factors that contribute to the digital landscape in Poland.

Contents

As of 2023, 93.3% of households in Poland had internet access, [1] :115 of which 99.5% had fixed broadband [1] :117 with median download speeds of 152.13  Mbps and upload speeds of 45.24 Mbps, [2] while access to mobile broadband internet was present in 73.7% of households. [1] :117 Overall, 99.8% of households with children [1] :115 and 98.7% of businesses [1] :74 reported having broadband internet access.

Internet usage in Poland varies by age group, with significantly higher rates among the younger generations, as 100% of those aged 18–24 and 96% of those aged 25–34 actively use the Internet. [3] However, there is a notable digital divide, as only 25% of individuals aged 65 and older are connected. [3]

Moreover, data shows that 58.5% of the population in Poland actively engages with e-government platforms, accessing a range of online resources and public services. [1] :135

History

The first analogue Internet connection was launched on September 26, 1990, and had a speed of approximately 9600 bits per second. The Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences received the first IP address in Poland (192.86.14.0) on 19 November 1990, assigned to it by the United States Department of Defense. This institute was also the recipient of the first e-mail sent to Poland, sent by CERN on 20 November 1990, and received on a MicroVax II computer. [4] [5]

Facts and figures

Digital Progress

EU comparison

The European Commission's 2022 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) report evaluates Poland's digital sector among 27 European Union (EU) nations. Poland is 24th in human capital, with 43% of citizens having basic digital skills and 3.5% working as Information and Communication Technology specialists (ICT). For connectivity, Poland ranks 25th, with 69% of households having broadband coverage. In digital technology integration, 19% of businesses use cloud services and 8% employ Big Data with in a ranking of 24th. Digital public services rank 22nd, showing advancements in e-government and open data, but requiring better online service availability. [14] [15]

Poland's Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), integral to the "Path to the Digital Decade Policy Programme", allocates over EUR 7.5 billion, 21.3% of its total fund, to digital transformation post-COVID-19. It prioritizes enhancing digital infrastructure, including broadband and 5G network development, and invests in network deployment, digital public services, education, digital skills, and cybersecurity. [15]

Broadband

Fixed broadband

As of 2022, 65% of Polish households were subscribed to 100 Mbps broadband, surpassing the EU average of 55%. The country's Fixed Very High Capacity Network (VHCN) coverage also grew from 65% in 2020 to 71% in 2022, nearing the EU average of 73%. Furthermore, the increase in Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) coverage from 45% to 60% during the same period marked progress, placing Poland above the EU average of 56%. [16]

Mobile broadband

In 2021, Poland's mobile broadband take-up among individuals was 84%, closely aligning with the EU average of 87%. However, in terms of 5G coverage, Poland is behind the EU, with 63% coverage in 2022, versus the EU average of 81%. Moreover, Poland's progress towards full 5G deployment encounters challenges, as the country has not yet assigned any of the 5G spectrum as of 2023, contrasting with an EU average assignment of 68%. [16]

Digital public services

In 2022, 63% of Polish internet users utilized e-government services, which is below the EU average of 74%. In contrast, Poland's e-health record accessibility achieved a score of 86 out of 100, exceeding the EU average of 72 out of 100. The mObywatel app plays a significant role in Poland's digital public services strategy. [16]

The mObywatel app, a government service for individuals launched in 2015, has successfully expanded its user base from 2 million in December 2020 to 9.1 million by December 2022. Originally conceived as a digital wallet for essential documents, including ID cards, driver's licenses, and pensioner cards, its functionality has evolved to support a variety of official interactions. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the app was adapted to enable Ukrainian citizens legally residing in Poland to verify their identity throughout the EU. [16]

Pricing

According to an OECD report, the price of Internet access in Poland in September 2012 ranged from $0.45 to $128.12 PPP per megabit per second (Mbit/s) of advertised speed. This places Poland in the middle on the low end (18th lowest out of 34 countries) and at the top on the high end (second highest behind New Zealand at $130.20). This compares with ranges of $0.40 to $23.25 for Germany, $0.40 to $12.35 for the Czech Republic, and $0.53 to $41.70 for the U.S. [17]

According to Eurostat, the OECD and others, Internet access in Poland in the early 2010s was among the most expensive in Europe. This was mostly due to a lack of competition and lack of experience. New operators like Dialog and GTS Energis are designing their own provider lines and are offering more attractive and cheaper services. In February 2011, the Polish Office of Electronic Communication issued an order forcing TPSA to rent 51% of their ADSL lines to other ISPs at 60% discount of their market pricing. As the result, the prices are non-competitive. Other ISP charge as TPSA makes a guaranteed 40% profit, while TPSA has no incentive to lower its consumer prices, because that would result in a lowering of wholesale prices as well.[ citation needed ]

ADSL

The most popular ADSL services for home users in Poland are Neostrada provided by TPSA and Net24 provided by Netia. Both provide download speeds in the range of 10 to 80 Mbit/s and upload speeds of 1 Mbit/s or more. Business users as well as some home users use Internet DSL TP also offered by TPSA.[ citation needed ]

Neostrada

ADSL and VDSL service is offered by Neostrada.[ citation needed ]

Internet DSL TP

There is another ADSL option available, targeted mainly at business clients, called Internet DSL TP. The link availability is guaranteed, offers static IP addresses, and a modem with Ethernet interface.[ citation needed ]

Net24

ADSL service called Net24, provided by TP's main competitor Netia. The service can be installed on ISDN lines.[ citation needed ]

Netia also offers ADSL (BiznesNet24) and SDSL (SuperNet24) subscriptions for business customers, which offer static IP addresses and higher speeds.

Multimo

ADSL service called Multimo, provided by GTS Energis for TP customers via Bit Stream Access.[ citation needed ]

DialNET DSL

ADSL service called DialNET DSL, provided by Dialog now bought by Netia. [18] [ citation needed ]

Cable

Cable providers such as Multimedia, UPC, Vectra and ASTER offer triple play services.[ citation needed ]

VECTRA

Vectra, after the purchase of Multimedia, is the largest cable network in Poland. (Reaches 4.4 million households). [19] [20]

INEA

Cable provider offering HFC and FTTH internet access from Greater Poland. Initially offered up to 10 Gbit/s for selected locations with FTTH [21] which was reduced later to 8,5 Gbit/s [22] and up to 1 Gbit/s in most locations. HFC offerings are asymmetric and FTTH are symmetric.

PLAY

UPC has rebranded name to PLAY [23] UPC has upgraded its "Fiber Power" internet service to higher speeds, offering internet with download speeds from 10 Mbit/s up to 1 Gbit/s. (Reaches 3.7 million households). play (p4) buys UPC. [24] [25]

HETAN

HETAN provides stationary Internet via Satellite to whole Poland for private and business customers with speeds ranging from 10 Mbit/s to 20 Mbit/s in download and from 2 Mbit/s to 6 Mbit/s in upload. HETAN launched its services in August 2011, and is since then market leader in providing internet via KA-satellite services to private households and SME's in Poland. HETAN is the largest reseller of Tooway/Skylogic Services in Poland and also represents Hylass/Avanti.[ citation needed ]

KORBANK

KORBANK provides Triple Play, especially in FTTx or ETH technology. The firm allows subscribers to connect and use computer-based telecommunications networks using independent Internet connections boasting high quality and transmission capacity, digital telephony and new generation TV. Operations focus on Lower Silesia and Masovia regions, where telecommunications services are offered to both retail and business clients. KORBANK is also founder of the first in Europe IPTV Platform based on Unicast Protocol - AVIOS. [26]

Censorship

In early 2011, Internet censorship legislation that included the creation of a registry of blocked websites was abandoned by the Polish government, following protests and petitions opposing the proposal. [27] [28] [29]

In 2011, the Office for Electronic Communications reported that law enforcement agencies requested access to telecommunications data (including call logs, telephone locations, and names registered to specific numbers) 1.8 million times, an increase of 500,000 over the number of requests in 2010. [30]

In January 2012, thousands protested Prime Minister Tusk's signing of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), establishing international standards for enforcing intellectual property rights, accusing it of facilitating Internet censorship. [31] Additionally, in February, Tusk suspended ratification of ACTA because his government had made insufficient consultations before signing the agreement to ensure it was entirely safe for Polish citizens. [32]

In September 2012, the creator of the website Antykomor.pl that satirized President Komorowski was sentenced to 15 months of restricted liberty and 600 hours of community service for defaming the president. [31]

See also

Related Research Articles

Telecommunications in Ireland operate in a regulated competitive market that provides customers with a wide array of advanced digital services. This article explores Ireland's telecommunications infrastructure including: fixed and mobile networks, The voice, data and Internet services, cable television, developments in next-generation networks and broadcast networks for radio and television.

Telecommunications in Poland include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet access</span> Individual connection to the Internet

Internet access is a facility or service that provides connectivity for a computer, a computer network, or other network device to the Internet, and for individuals or organizations to access or use applications such as email and the World Wide Web. Internet access is offered for sale by an international hierarchy of Internet service providers (ISPs) using various networking technologies. At the retail level, many organizations, including municipal entities, also provide cost-free access to the general public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orange Polska</span> Polish telecommunications provider

Orange Polska is a Polish telecommunications provider established in December 1991. It is a public company traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, with a controlling stake owned by Orange S.A., the latter controlling over 50% of this stake by 2002. It operates the following services: PSTN, ISDN, GSM 900/1800 network, ADSL, IDSL, FTTH fibre Internet, Frame Relay, ATM and Inmarsat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in South Africa</span> Overview of the Internet in South Africa

The Internet in South Africa, one of the most technologically resourced countries on the African continent, is expanding. The internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) .za is managed and regulated by the .za Domain Name Authority (.ZADNA) and was granted to South Africa by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in 1990. Over 60% of Internet traffic generated on the African continent originates from South Africa. As of 2020, 41.5 million people were Internet users.

Internet in Brazil was launched in 1988. In 2011 Brazil ranked fifth in the world with nearly 89 million Internet users, 45% of the population. In March 2022, Brazil ranked 33rd in the Ookla Broadband Ranking, with a median fixed broadband speed of 90 Mbit/s. Also, as per December 2021, Brazil had 41,4 million fixed broadband accesses, most of them FTTH. However, as per 2020, most Brazilians access the Internet through a mobile connection, with more than 200 million mobile internet access.

In Singapore, there are 11,512,900 broadband Internet subscribers. There are three major Internet service providers in Singapore, namely, Singtel, StarHub, and M1 and other growing providers like MyRepublic and ViewQwest. Over the years, the Singapore Government has been promoting the usage of broadband Internet access, as part of its Intelligent Nation 2015 (iN2015) and Smart Nation initiative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in the Czech Republic</span>

Internet in the Czech Republic and Internet access are largely provided by the private sector and is available in a variety of forms, using a variety of technologies, at a wide range of speeds and costs. In 2013, 68% of Czechs were connected to the Internet.From 2013 to 2022, the number of Internet users in the Czech Republic increased rapidly to 91.48%.

Internet in Belgium has a high level of adoption and engagement, with a 93% uptake rate among individuals as of 2022, which is higher than the EU average of 89%. The country is on par with the EU average regarding digital skills, with 54% of its population having at least basic digital competencies. Belgium's commitment to digital inclusiveness is illustrated through initiatives like the BeCentral digital campus, which has trained over 425,000 students since 2017 to narrow the digital skills gap.

The Internet in Croatia became a reality in November 1992 when the first international connection linking Zagreb and Vienna became operational.

Internet in France has been available to the general public since 1994, but widespread Internet use did not take off until the mid-2000s. As of 31 December 2014, France had 26 million Internet broadband and high-speed connections on fixed networks. In 2014, 80.7% of French households had Internet access, while 19.3% did not.

Internet in Portugal reached an 88% household penetration rate in 2022, with notably higher access rates in households with children. Among individuals aged 16 to 74, mobile internet use is prevalent, at 81.8%, primarily for communication and information access.

The Internet in Turkey has been available to the public since 1993, although experimentation at Ege University started in 1987. The first available connections were dial-up. Cable Internet has been available since 1998 and ADSL since 2001. Turkey has 70 million active Internet users as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the Internet in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has been involved with the Internet throughout its origins and development. The telecommunications infrastructure in the United Kingdom provides Internet access to homes and businesses mainly through fibre, cable, mobile and fixed wireless networks, with the UK's 140-year-old copper network, maintained by Openreach, set to be withdrawn by December 2025.

Broadband Internet in Israel has been available since the late 1990s in theory, but it only became practically accessible to most customers in 2001. By 2008, Israel had become one of the few countries with developed broadband capabilities across two types of infrastructure—cable and DSL—reaching over 95% of the population. Actual broadband market penetration stands at 77%, ranked 7th in the world. In 2010, Israel was ranked 26th in The Economist's Digital Economy Rankings. In 2022, Israel was ranked first for digital quality of life by Surfshark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in Iceland</span>

Iceland is among the top countries in the world in terms of Internet deployment and use. 99.68% of Icelanders used in the internet in 2021.

In Romania, there are 18.8 million connections to the Internet. Romania's country code is .ro. The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. There were over 600 000 domains registered under .ro at the end of 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in Thailand</span> Overview of the Internet in Thailand

Thailand's connection to the Internet began in 1987 via the Australian Research and Edcuation Network using UUCP and SUNIII which transformed to full TCP/IP in 1992 to UUNET. This marked Thailand as an early participant in bringing the Internet to Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UPC Switzerland</span> Cable provider in Switzerland

UPC was the largest cable operator in Switzerland with around 1.1 million residential and business customers and was formed in 1994 through the merger of several cable operators. UPC has been a subsidiary of Liberty Global from 2005 until its discontinuation in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National broadband plan</span> National plans to deploy broadband Internet access

Broadband is a term normally considered to be synonymous with a high-speed connection to the internet. Suitability for certain applications, or technically a certain quality of service, is often assumed. For instance, low round trip delay would normally be assumed to be well under 150ms and suitable for Voice over IP, online gaming, financial trading especially arbitrage, virtual private networks and other latency-sensitive applications. This would rule out satellite Internet as inherently high-latency. In some applications, utility-grade reliability or security are often also assumed or defined as requirements. There is no single definition of broadband and official plans may refer to any or none of these criteria.

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