“As much as 15% of Polish society has never used the Internet”, said Michał Ziółkowski, technical director, board member of Play and UPC. In his opinion, in Poland, the problem of digital exclusion is related to the lack of access to equipment, the lack of access to relevant services, including access to the Internet and communications, as well as the lack of digital competences.
This phenomenon was highlighted last year by the Consumer Federation in its report “Digital exclusion during the pandemic. Access and use of the Internet and computers in selected social groups”ю The authors estimated that 4.51 million Poles aged 16-74 (15.5% of this group) have never used the Internet. Even more people (4.78 million) have never used a computer.
The lockdown as well as other limitations of social and economic life caused by the pandemic have deepened digital exclusion. According to the report, the situation of seniors as well as students, rural residents and the disabled has worsened the most.
In terms of digital exclusion in the European Union, the situation is worse in only six countries (Portugal, Greece, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria and Italy), the same result is in Lithuania, and the situation is better in as many as 19 countries.
Poland’s result (15% of people who have never used the Internet) is significantly below the EU average of 9%. In terms of people who have never used a computer, Poland is also ranked 20th followed by the same countries. Poland’s result (19%) is also well below the EU average of 14%.
At that time, the authors of the report pointed out that too high costs of equipment and access costs constitute a barrier to having access to the Internet at home, especially for households in smaller towns and villages.
The updated National Broadband Plan assumes that by 2025 Poland will provide universal Internet access with a capacity of at least 100 Mb / s. In places that are the main driving force of socio-economic development, such as schools, transport nodes and main places where public services are provided, the bandwidth will reach at least 1 Gb / s.
Adrian Andrzejewski order