Development of the information society in Poland, taking into account spatial diversity

Abstract

Purpose: A feature of the information society is the widespread use of information and communication technologies in both business processes and everyday life. The condition for the universality of these solutions is to ensure access to high quality information and communication technologies throughout the country. The aim of the article is to assess the availability and use of information and communication technologies in the voivodeships of Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology of the article is based on descriptive analysis of the information society in Poland. The scope of the considerations concerns the spatial diversity in the availability of information and communication technologies in Poland from the perspective of citizens and businesses per voivodeship. The research used secondary data made available by the Statistics Poland, including the Local Data Bank, Eurostat and the Digital Agenda for Europe. Due to the availability of comparable statistics, 2015 and 2019 were analyzed. Findings: The level of development of the information society in Poland systematically increases. However, Poland is among the countries with the lowest rate of digital economy in the EU. The development of online services comes out as the best developed, while the telecommunication infrastructure falls at the other end of the spectrum. The analysis of selected data concerning the development of the information society in Polish voivodeships indicates that there are differences in the access of the communities of individual regions to high quality information and communication technologies. In particular, inequalities in access to and use of broadband Internet were found. The diversity, which can be described as a digital divide, is particularly characteristic in the relationship between Western Poland and Eastern Poland and is evident in the use of eGovernment services. Social implications: The existence of spatial diversity may affect the implementation of the development priorities of the country and the EU. Public administration is in the period of transition from the traditional way of dealing with the matters of citizens and enterprises to modern — electronic implementation of public services, which requires the state not only to provide access to modern technologies, but also to invest in digital skills of administration employees and society. Originality/value: The results of the conducted analysis may provide guidance for national and regional economic policy entities in terms of shaping forms of public support for development of information and communication technologies in the next development programming perspectives.