As many as 62 percent of Slovak households have internet access, which means that Slovakia is catching up to the EU average of 65 percent, according to a report on 2009 commissioned by the state Information Society Proxy, the TASR newswire wrote.
Pavol Tarina, head of the office, says Slovakia's biggest problem lies in the low access to broadband internet DSL, enjoyed by only 42 percent of households – and the numbers are especially low in rural Slovakia. According to the report, 98 percent of businesses have access to the internet, which is better than the EU average. More than three quarters of them use broadband internet, which is still below the EU average.
The report concludes that Slovakia belongs among the 'developed' information societies. Even though some indicators show lower values than the EU average, they at the same time show an above-average rate of growth, especially in terms of developing the electronic services of the public administration, or so-called eGovernment.
Another positive presented in the document is that the overall extent of using the electronic services internet - 66 percent regular users and 49 percent frequent users - exceeds the EU average. The proportion of Slovaks who haven't as yet gained access to the internet is 22 percent.
The main shortcomings in this sphere concerns eGovernment, the accessibility of which is on 55 percent. However, the level of using the service is higher than the EU average - 26 percent of people and 86 percent of businesses communicate with bodies of public administration via the internet link to eGovernment. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
