Internet Caviar p. 1
Internet access is like caviar for people in Slovakia. The cost of Internet access is high and it is a barrier for users. There are a lot of differences in the Internet options between Slovakia and other OECD members. The monopoly of Slovak Telecom builds walls for Slovak users. Injustice exists on the side of provider companies in their business. The attitude toward Internet has to be changed in our society from being a luxury to being available to everyone.
In comparison with other OECD members in the facts show the differences. According to OECD Online, the average cost to users to access the Internet, for 20 hours per month at peak times, fell by 24 per cent, between October 1999 and September 2000, and 21 per cent at off-peak times. For 40 hours of peak usage per month, including telecommunication charges, the average price of Internet access fell by 27 per cent at peak times and 26 per cent at off-peak times. The greater gains for 40 hours are based on the introduction of unmetered access options in several countries. The major development highlighted in the latest OECD survey is the strengthening trend toward unmetered telecommunication prices to access the Internet. Consumers in countries such as Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States already have unmetered Internet access. In these countries options are available so that the charges users pay do not vary with the amount of time they spend online allowing them to benefit from an ‘always-on’ environment. Telecommunication carriers in Germany and the United Kingdom have introduced options for unmetered access to the Internet at peak and off-peak times. In Hungary, Korea and Spain, unmetered options have been introduced for off-peak times (OECD Online, 2001, p. 1). On the other hand, the rate for two-minute connections – the time many businesses use for checking emails – rose 80% in Slovakia. Meanwhile, the cost of using the Internet for Slovaks for one hour at off-peak times rose 26%, while the hour rate at peak time increased by under
Internet Caviar p. 2
1% (“Telecom Price Rises”, 2001, pp. 1, 6). “When we look at these figures and compare them with Slovakia, we see that Slovaks pay the highest rate for Internet connection of all OECD members,” said Marián Ďurovčík, IT manager at the Slovak Technical University in Bratislava (“Telecom Price Rises”, 2001, p. 6).