Internet usage still low in Poland, but shows high potential
While the internet market remains largely undeveloped in the countries of emerging Europe an area that includes Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Russia and Greece and Turkey Poland shows a potential for rapid cyberspace growth as the sixth largest European country, said a recent report by Deutsche Bank.
Internet penetration the percentage of users who have gone online in the last quarter ranges from 1% in Russia to 6% in Greece, according to the report. Poland falls in the middle with 4% of its 39 million people. The report predicts that Poland's internet penetration will rise to 10% by 2002.
The report says traditional barriers in emerging markets prevent the internet market from developing. Among contributing factors are low credit card usage, low personal computer (PC) ownership, poor postal systems and weak legal environments in some areas. But deregulation of the telecom sector, falling internet service provider (ISP) prices, high levels of telephone and TV usage and the growing popularity of mobile phones are positive signs for the development of internet markets in the region.
The big area of growth in the internet sector will be in horizontal portals - web sites that include search engines, channels, news, electronic mail and chat rooms, the report said. While portal markets are still fragmented in the region, a number of strong companies have established footholds. In Poland, Optimus (Onet), Prokom (Wirtualna Polska), Comarch (Interia) and Softbank (Polska Online) are the major portals. The report indicated that four new portals will open in Poland with offerings from Agora, Telekomunikacja Polska (TPSA), Elektrim and Netia. Deutsche Bank's Zbigniew Lapinski said he expects to see as many as 10 portals on the Polish market this year, but that the number will drop to 3-5 as the companies consolidate through mergers and alliances in the next 12-18 months.
But small cyberspace squatters need not feel threatened by big Internet companies. Lapinski said the internet scene in Poland will mirror those in Europe and the U.S. where small firms have survived alongside large players. "The question is what kind of service they will provide," he said.
