The Hungarian government is cutting back a program launched in 2004 to help spread Internet access to small settlements, writes Fn.hu, based on a report in daily Magyar Nemzet.
Starting last Friday, towns with a population of over 10,000 cannot participate in the program, and support will be withdrawn from those settlements where local Internet connections – mostly in libraries or cultural houses – have not been used for a month. Meanwhile, the program will now be overseen by the recently-created “electronic government center” instead of the ministry of transport, telecommunications and energy.
The paper wrote that several public bodies have been sent a letter informing them that the government is not willing to extend the Internet support contracts, and that devices will be uninstalled and removed by providers participating in the program.
The ministry of transport, telecommunication and energy told the daily that the reason the contracts will not be extended in these settlements is that the service has not been used for a long time, and the reason that settlements with a population of over 10,000 will be excluded from the program is that they are usually served by several providers offering broadband Internet.