3. Specific Polish Circumstances 

Between the second and the third quartile of 2001 Polish telecommunication market step into a fast development, which in European Union began few years ago. The number of clients of mobile telecommunication will probably exceed the number of clients of traditional telephony.

That's why it is worth to name some factors, characterising Polish market:

• Poland has never achieved and probably won't achieve the average European number of clients of traditional telecommunication - 60-70% in EU and about 25% in Poland in 2001. It is predicted that the number of clients of traditional telephony will increase about 2-3% per year.
  The infrastructure of stationary telephony was built before the mobile telecommunication market boosted.

• In Poland the mobile telecommunication pose a serious threat for stationary telephony, and there are no reasons for investing in development of traditional telephony.

• The PSTN lines will be replaced by ISDN in order to provide a better quality of services.

• The mobile telecommunication will develop with a different speed in different countries. Poland is much bigger country than Czech Republic or Hungary, so it requires higher investments in infrastructure. It also requires a better organisation. We can compare this situation with Germany, who for a long a time were underdeveloped in comparison with smaller European countries in development of mobile telecommunication market.

• Another reason for low penetration of mobile telecommunication in Poland is a low degree of use of pre-paid clients (in Czech Republic it was the reason for boosting of mobile telecommunication market). It is predicted that a similar process will be seen in Poland in a few years.

• Poland has never achieved and probably won't achieve the average European number of clients of traditional telecommunication, but in case of mobile telecommunication the gap will be getting smaller. It is predicted that a level of 50% penetration will be achieved in 2004.