The trend of the progress in Slovakia is not going in the same direction as is in other OECD states; nonetheless, the Slovak Republic is a member like others. Their membership should also be reflected in the Internet conditions, in the government’s vision and in changes of outlook toward the Internet. The business policy of Slovak Telecom is not lucrative to Internet users. Slovak Telecom has a monopoly on the Slovak Internet access market; consequently, the market of telecommunications is not flexible enough. It reflects in the pricing policy of Slovak Telecom. Slovak Telecom introduced a special fee of 1.50 crowns for dialing up to the net. The rate is paid whether the user gets connected to the server or not. (“Telecom Price Rises”, 2001, p. 6) “The concept of charging a per minute pulse rate for the privilege of connecting a computer to the Internet is absolutely ludicrous,” said Jozef T. Gazarik, an American interested in Slovak matters (“Free market would remove the barriers”, 2001). “We have to accept the new rates because of ST’s monopoly. It would make sense to cancel ST’s monopoly,” said Róbert Šajty, operation manager at water cooler installation firm Dolphin Slovakia (“Telecom Price Rises”, 2001, p. 6). The policy of Slovak Telecom on Internet pricing has drawn it into conflict with IT and educational groups in Slovakia in the past, and earlier this year saw the firm fined 10 million crowns by the anti-monopoly office for abusing its monopoly status. Some businesses said that little could improve before Slovak Telecom lost its monopoly in 2003 (“Telecom Price Rises”, 2001, p. 6). There is no other choice in this case because of ST’s monopoly, which will be canceled in 2003 when new operators come on the telecommunication market. The loss of ST’s monopoly will certainly improve the attitude toward the Internet in Slovakia. Internet Caviar p. 3
The provider companies make business to profit. Is that business just? These companies provide Internet; in other words, they are selling it. However, there is no owner of the Internet! There is nobody to whom the Internet belongs! “I have to pay 300 Skk monthly for all-day Internet access at home”, said Matúš Klement, a student of BSBA, City University, Trenčín (Interview, 2001, November 3). In contrast, four companies exist in the Czech Republic – including Czech Telecom – which provide Internet without fee. On the other hand, there is no company in Slovakia such as in the Czech Republic. One provider company (called Kiwwi) provides Internet access without fee in Slovakia; however, the quality and speed of transferring data is not comparable.