What the next seven years hold in store for new information technologies

Analysts from brokerage house Wood & Company forecast that by 2007 over 50% of Poles will have access to the internet and new information-technology will account for 21% of GDP. Last year it accounted for 1.3% of GDP, and revenue predictions for 2007 are zl. 269 billion. Access to the internet will be encouraged through decreased cost of telecom connections, increased consumer buying-power, and further development of new technologies. The main threat to internet development in Poland would be unnecessarily complicated legislation and lower-than-predicted reductions in the cost of accessing the web. Current forecasts say internet access will increase by 40% to 60% per year. Currently, the Czech Republic and Hungary have wider access to the internet, with user figures of 5.8% and 5.9% respectively. In Poland it is 5.2%. By 2007 the value of new information-technologies market in the Czech Republic and Hungary should account for 27% and 24% of GDP respectively. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 27) M.M.