Polish Internet Sucks

[Gość: awalk]

NWE
A new report from United Nations telecoms
agency ITU this week confirmed
what most Poles have long been pretty clear
about ? the country?s Internet access is
about as bad as the developed world gets.
Where the average cost of 100 kilobytes per
second of Internet access speed (twice as
fast as an ordinary modem) in Japan is 0.01
percent of the average monthly wage, in
Poland it?s just under 4.0 percent.
The technological time-lag doesn?t stop
there. The report also shows that only 0.03
percent of the Polish population has access
to wide-band Internet, putting the country in
63rd place worldwide, just behind the
industrial might of Guam, Nicaragua, the
Solomon Isles and Lebanon.
Finally, for those hoping an ordinary
phone line will do for now, the ITU also
said Poland has one of the lowest ratios of
ordinary land lines to population in
Europe. At 55 lines per 100 people, it falls
way behind all of its immediate neighbours:
the Czech Republic (105), Hungary
(100) and even mostly rural Lithuania (75).
STEVEN MULLER

[azm2]

...and TPSA still goes strong... :-(((

[mitrop]

It is not *that* bad. In the town where I live (and it is not one of the
biggest) most of the people I know have access to broadband Internet. Are we
that lucky 0.03% of Polish population? ;)

As for the costs, you can't compare Poland to other developed countries
because here wages are much, much lower. I don't know how much you pay for
internet in other countries, but an avarage 8-10$/month for unlimited access
to broadband Internet here is not that much (?).

It is true, that as regards the number of ordinary phone lines, we are way
behind the rest of Europe. It is caused by the monopoly of our national
operator but also by the mobile-phone boom. Who needs an ordinary phone these
days anyway? The future of the Internet is not in the analog modem technology.
Thanks to the bad situation in Polish telecommunications, many independent
ISPs have appeard and build their own networks, much faster and
technologically advanced than what TPSA could offer with their 56kbps modem
access(by the way, it's kilobits, not bytes as the article says).

Don't be so pessmistic. we just need some time + keep the 7% VAT for Internet
services ;)

[Gość: awalk]

mitrop napisał:

> It is not *that* bad. In the town where I live (and it is not one of the
> biggest) most of the people I know have access to broadband Internet. Are we
> that lucky 0.03% of Polish population? ;)


Yes you are!

>
> As for the costs, you can't compare Poland to other developed countries
> because here wages are much, much lower.

So what, I still can compare!

>I don't know how much you pay for
> internet in other countries, but an avarage 8-10$/month for unlimited access
> to broadband Internet here is not that much (?).

A matter of opinion. In many places out there the access is free, but it seems you like to pay.
>
> It is true, that as regards the number of ordinary phone lines, we are way
> behind the rest of Europe. It is caused by the monopoly of our national
> operator but also by the mobile-phone boom. Who needs an ordinary phone these
> days anyway?

People who can't afford cellular phones. They are still more expensive, haven't you noticed?

>The future of the Internet is not in the analog modem technology.
> Thanks to the bad situation in Polish telecommunications, many independent
> ISPs have appeard and build their own networks, much faster and
> technologically advanced than what TPSA could offer with their 56kbps modem
> access(by the way, it's kilobits, not bytes as the article says).

ha ha without TPSA monopoly many many more would have appeared.
>
> Don't be so pessmistic.

I am not.

>we just need some time

I've heard it for all my life and I am afraid I am going to die before the situation improves. Is that what you mean by "some time"

+ keep the 7% VAT for Internet
> services ;)

Why would you want to keep 7% VAT? It beats me. Isn't it better to keep it at 0%?

[mitrop]

Gość portalu: awalk napisał(a):

> A matter of opinion. In many places out there the access is free, but it >
seems you like to pay.

Nothing in this world is free. Providing *broadband* access to the Interner
with guaranteed speed, tech support etc. is rather expensive. Somebody,
somewhere has to pay for it.

> People who can't afford cellular phones. They are still more expensive,
haven't
> you noticed?

Not really. More and more people decide to give up their landline phones
because they dont' want to pay the monthly fee which is rather high (I'm
talking about TPSA of course).

> I've heard it for all my life and I am afraid I am going to die before the
situ
> ation improves. Is that what you mean by "some time"

My parents waited 20 years to have their landline installed! The times have
changed and hopefully, you will not have to wait that long before the
situation improves. Consider yourself lucky. ;)

> Why would you want to keep 7% VAT? It beats me. Isn't it better to keep it
at 0 %?

The VAT rate for Internet services was lowered to 7% two years ago and at that
time I thought it was a miracle. I hear they plan to raise it back to 22%
(which is the basic VAT rate in Poland) so I'm happy with 7.

[Gość: awalk]

mitrop napisał:

> Gość portalu: awalk napisał(a):
>
> > A matter of opinion. In many places out there the access is free, but it &
> #62
> seems you like to pay.
>
> Nothing in this world is free. Providing *broadband* access to the Interner
> with guaranteed speed, tech support etc. is rather expensive. Somebody,
> somewhere has to pay for it.

But it doesn't have to be you@!
>
> > People who can't afford cellular phones. They are still more expensive,
> haven't
> > you noticed?
>
> Not really. More and more people decide to give up their landline phones
> because they dont' want to pay the monthly fee which is rather high (I'm
> talking about TPSA of course).

Yes and then they don't call anybody because it is too expensive, but the have a cellphone ha ha. I know many such people. Good way of making statistics.

>
> > I've heard it for all my life and I am afraid I am going to die before the
>
> situ
> > ation improves. Is that what you mean by "some time"
>
> My parents waited 20 years to have their landline installed! The times have
> changed and hopefully, you will not have to wait that long before the
> situation improves.

Yes the times have changed (I've heard this phrase all my life too) and now we'll wait just 30 years for a cheap, public internet acces ;)

>Consider yourself lucky. ;)

I don't think it is a right attitude to count on one's luck. It is always better to do something about it instead of waiting.

>
> > Why would you want to keep 7% VAT? It beats me. Isn't it better to keep it
>
> at 0 %?
>
> The VAT rate for Internet services was lowered to 7% two years ago and at that
> time I thought it was a miracle. I hear they plan to raise it back to 22%
> (which is the basic VAT rate in Poland) so I'm happy with 7.

Well it wasn't a miracle but one of many mistakes of our parliment, and now in the view of the coming budget crisis I think we will be all lucky if they stop at 22%. So keep dreaming and consider yourself lucky ;)