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Bulgaria:
THE NEXT MILE IN BULGARIA
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Filling
A Gap
Nearly
half of all Bulgarians live in small towns not yet reached
by the economic progress underway in urban areas. Indeed,
the further a community is from Bulgaria's five largest
cities, the greater is the gap in economic development.
This also holds true for access to modern information
and communication technologies (ICTs). While multiple
Internet service providers (ISPs) compete with one another
in urban centers, few even operate in small towns and
rural areas. Moreover, where Internet access is available,
the average cost for services is almost twice as high
as in the cities.
Estimates of Internet usage in Bulgaria vary greatly,
ranging from a low of 30,000, or less than one per cent
of the population, to a high of 360,000, or five to six
per cent of the population, during the first quarter of
2000. It is certain, however, that
nearly all users live in cities, with only two
to three percent residing in small towns. Since individual
computer ownership is low, many access the Internet at
their place of employment.
[more]
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