[5] The State of the Net in Hungary
by John Horvath
jhorv@helka.iif.hu
As the seconds tick the time out for the second millennium, Hungary is
still playing catch-up on the long and winding infobahn. High
telephone charges coupled with metered rates for local calls make
domestic access still a luxury for many. In addition, the country's
digital infrastructure is still inadequate to handle large volumes of
traffic and high bandwidth applications.
Yet despite these and many other shortcomings, Hungary has made some
progress over the past few years. The Internet has finally broken out
from its isolation as a seedy and potential dangerous place for
youngsters and society at large. Indeed, even the extreme fringes of
the political spectrum now have a presence on the Internet.
The Internet as a source of mass media has gained ground in the past
year, albeit still very slowly. Conventional media radio, television,
and print have increasingly made references to the "new" media. In
fact, many have their own online presence. Shows dealing specifically
with the Internet have also been on the rise.
As for e-commerce, although still in its embryonic stages, it has
started to become more prominent. This year saw a big boost for the
commercial Internet as the country's largest savings bank, OTP,
launched an array of online services. This has taken place in
conjunction with the rise of other business activities, like ordering
a pizza online. As a result, advertising is beginning to spill over
from "cyberspace". Many advertisements placed within traditional
venues now include a web site or e-mail address.
Coupled with all these advances, there has been an exponential rise in
native language content. This is directly related to the growth in
user demographics which, although still well below the European
average, not to mention North America and Japan, has risen
substantially. The latest demographic figures from IDC show that
there are 650,000 Internet users in Hungary and this is expected to
increase by almost 30 percent in the next three years. Much of this
can be attributed to the government's effort at wiring the schools to
the Internet. Known as Sulinet, the program has introduced many
students, teachers, and administrators to the world of computers and
networking, and has offered them an opportunity to go online that they
otherwise would not have had.
There have also been several private sector initiatives at broadening
the user base. Cable access has made its appearance, providing more
reliable service and higher bandwidth. Not only this, but with cable
threatening the ISP position of the country's leading telecom
provider, MATAV, the access market has become more competitive, to the
benefit of consumers.
In addition to this, the post office has been busy establishing
"telepost" offices in various communities. In conjunction with usual
postal services, these offices enable people to use computers and the
Internet, providing them with e-mail and a host of other services. A
total of 17 such offices are presently scattered throughout the
country, with plans to open another 30 offices next year.
Although the progress the country has made over the year to bring the
Internet to the average citizen is noteworthy, it is still far too
early to proclaim that the Internet revolution has "taken off" in
Hungary. On the contrary, the country still faces many challenges.
Unless these are addressed, the potential of the Internet will be
stagnant.
One of the major problems still faced, not only by Hungary but other
countries of Central and Eastern Europe, is that the area is still
being used a dumping ground for redundant technology. The new
computer system at OTP, for example, which was purchased and
implemented in the mid-nineties, is outdated by at least a decade.
This impediment of redundant technology, due either to ignorance or
economic considerations, is not limited to merely Hungarian
enterprises, however. A Dutch bank operating in Hungary, which last
year implemented a new retail card system, only found out at the
beginning of this year that its new system was not Y2K compliant.
On the commercial side of things, although the presence of the
Internet is obvious in advertising and marketing strategies, Hungarian
companies (especially SMEs) still are unable to see the advertising
potential nor fully grasp the dynamics of online advertising. On the
other hand, those that do are often behind the times, perpetually
caught in a cycle of playing catch-up with western trends. For
instance, although many companies have now begun to make a shift
toward the Internet, the new trend in the U.S. is to actually "flee
the dot-com". As Keith Dawson writes in his weekly log, Tasty Bits
from the Technology Front (see: http://tbtf.com/blog/1999- 11-07.html
as well as http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/
SB942276734846706339.htm and http://www .msnbc.com/news/333919.asp),
"focus groups are beginning to show that average folks don't remember
the companies, don't like the ads, and resent the ever-present image
of the greedy twenty-something zillionaire."
Meanwhile, telework remains a remote and wishful concept. Despite
increased traffic congestion and pollution in most of Hungary's major
cities, especially Budapest, it's not economically feasible to have
people work from home, given the poor state of the telecommunications
infrastructure -- not to mention the cost. Moreover, most Hungarians
still work along lines of an industrial and agrarian economy, as
opposed to a knowledge-based one.
As for e-commerce, while making a grandiose appearance, it's caught in
an awkward predicament. To be sure, e-commerce in Hungary will grow
but, if present trends continue, its influence will be limited. The
main reason is that many are wary of initiating a system for serious
online transactions. Even non-monetary transactions, such as booking
and reservation services, are not widely available. This is because
there lingers a fear and mistrust of online services. For instance,
while the ability to order and pay by credit card over the telephone
has relatively a long and established tradition elsewhere -- notably
the U.S. and Canada it's still a concept very much alien to the
Hungarian economy.
A less than extensive user base is an additional problem. Hungary
remains one of the most expensive places in Europe for Internet use.
Although the increase in the number of users may look impressive, it
still represents less than 7 percent of the population, with only 14
percent of all PCs in Hungary connected to the Internet.
While efforts have been made to get more people online, access is
still hindered by high telecommunication charges. This also goes for
cable, which costs about a quarter of an average Hungarian's salary.
A study commissioned by the OECD confirmed that high connection fees
coupled with the high cost of local telephone calls is impeding the
uptake of the Internet in Hungary. Unfortunately, this situation
looks set to worsen, with a 20-40% rise in telephone charges expected
in the new year.
Alternative efforts to entice more people online, such as the post
office's telepost offices, are not only expensive but also suffer from
inconsistent and lopsided development. In the Galga valley, for
example, a region about 40 km east of Budapest, a small village has a
telepost office while neighbouring towns and villages, which are
larger and more strategically located, don't.
As for the social aspect of computer networking, here, too, formidable
challenges and obstacles exist. While the Sulinet program may have
succeeded to a certain extent in introducing many to the medium,
students and teachers are, nevertheless, not encouraged to understand
the medium, but are taught to simply use it. Similarly, for the
community of users as a whole, the concept of a "net community" is
lacking somewhat. Most know nothing about ICANN, no less have an
understanding nor even interest about any of the issues surrounding
the future of the Internet.
Another challenge faced by Hungarians embracing the Internet is the
view of computer-mediated communications as an alternative source for
information. Unfortunately, the Internet is still regarded as a
supplement to conventional media, a view that is being reinforced by
radio, television, and print.
Meanwhile, the old habit of regarding the Internet as a cesspool of
anarchy and perversity dies hard. Earlier in the year, a report on
hackers was aired on Hungarian television. Instead of presenting a
comprehensive view into this sub-culture, with an additional follow-up
into Hungary's unique hacker culture, the report turned out to be
nothing more than a shoddy play on Eric Raymond's dichotomy of hackers
and crackers (see "Homesteading the Noonesphere"), the simplified
conclusion being that one group (hackers) is benevolent (they are
people who try to find weaknesses in systems) while the other
(crackers) are nothing more than a malevolent bunch of people.
To this extent, a 3-5 person special group within the police will be
established in the new year to deal with "illegal" activities on the
Internet. According to media reports, the main purpose of this
department is to scan Hungarian sites for pedophilia and bomb-making
information which, according to authorities and the media, are the two
most "dangerous" types of content to be had. However, as with all
such seemingly noble efforts to protect the public from harm, the
objectives are vague enough to be used as a means for silencing social
discontent and political dissent.
Despite these shortcomings, the future is not entirely hopeless; nor
will it be entirely mundane. One thing to watch for is the possible
rise of Linux in Hungary. The government had already squandered a
chance when it had decided on Unix for the Sulinet program. Not that
it mattered much, for Hungary still has a vibrant hacker underground.
(Admittedly, the efforts of the Business Software Alliance have not
gone unnoticed either, as many first time users and administrators in
public institutions take the threats of the software police
seriously.)
With the anticipated release of a Hungarian version of Star Office
some time at the beginning of the new millennium, it remains to be
seen how Linux will affect the digital landscape in Hungary. As Linux
applications become more compatible with commercial (i.e. Microsoft)
products, cash-strapped institutions and administrators may seize the
opportunities offered by free software.
On the other hand, Microsoft's slick and subtle media campaigns over
the past year (Bill Gates is regarded by many users in Hungary as one
of the main forces behind the Internet) has done much to cement their
level of support. At the same time, Linux's unfamiliar and relatively
less user-friendly interface are obstacles which still need to be
overcome. Other systems, meanwhile, such as BeOS or FreeBSD, are not
only insignificant in number but are also unavailable in the local
language.
For Hungary, the irony of the whole situation is that although the
country boasts some of the best talent in the field of computer
programming and mathematics, it's not reflected within the general
population. Instead of bringing Hungary up to speed on the
"infobahn", this level of talent has either added to the country's
brain drain syndrome or has taken part in the construction of the
multi-tier "information society" which has emerged. Only time will
tell if this is a temporary enigma or will turn out to be a chronic
handicap.
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Reprinted from the Amateur Computerist Vol 10 No 2 Spring 2001.
The whole issue or a subscription is available for free via email.
Send a request to jrh@ais.org or see http://www.ais.org/~jrh/acn/
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