Institute gathers support for planned break-up of TPSA

Plans to break up Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA) have found support among a number of non-governmental organizations and politicians. Following a meeting yesterday with representatives of the Adam Smith Center (CAS), which supports dividing the telecoms giant into several smaller companies, Julia Pitera, president of Transparency International, said, "Politicians often speak about the revenues that the state budget receives from the monopoly of TPSA. However, they forget that there should be free access to information." At the meeting, the CAS officials explained why the virtual monopolistic position of TPSA, which has a market share of 95%, is harmful to Poland's telecoms sector. However, Grazyna Piotrowska-Oliwa, a director of TPSA, disputed their reasoning, asking, "Is it good for the state to divide a company that pays taxes and gives work to many people?" (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3; Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 2) P.W.