Due to a prolonged expectation, in the government the information technology, the ICT sector, and all the questions and solutions, connecting with the technological development on economic and juristic level, got priority declared not on ministerial, but on government commissarial level. The cabinet attributes greater importance to treating of the information technological problems. Prospectively every work (for example: investments or legislating) is going to be accelerated. On the one hand, personally the information technological commissioner is the guarantee, thus the government can allocate the appropriate financial and human resources for the information technological demands. On the other hand, it is to be hoped that unanimous governmental conception and plan of act, which can define the developmental priorities and directions in Hungary, are going to be elaborated. Thirdly, all those background steps, that are necessary for the information technological development (for example: the laws, the decrees) can accelerate. (For example: the enactment of the Unified Communication Law, the statue of the digital signature, the signing of the Singapore Convention, etc.)

As well as the plans with respect to the better personal computer supply for the habitants can be attained more easily.

The following constitute the principle factors for the development of such an information society in Hungary:

1. the domain of ministries and governmental and public administrative organisations;
2. the representatives of social and expert organisations (the third or non-profit sector);
3. the realm of industry (the private sector). Endeavors toward establishing infrastructure, as well as in supporting the civil/non-profit sphere and research and development come from this latter group.

For this summer, in the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office, the Information Technology Government Commissariat, a new separated apparatus has taken over the function of the deputy undersecretaries, which was competent in the information technological and governmental telecommunications business before.

“The Government considers the establishment of the information society as key from the point of the competitive superiority of the Republic of Hungary. In order to Hungary could serve the new economic challenges the government qualified each of the connecting task as direct governmental duties. During the changes, the authorities of communication and information society got to the Information Technology Government Commissariat in the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office. As to 1^st June, because of governmental decision 1045/2000. (V.31.) Zoltán Sík was appointed to information technological commissioner.

Refer to the challenging of the authorities of certain ministers (Act LXXXIX. 2000.) the Parliament modified the name and the functions of the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Water. At the same time, the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s Office was charged to manage all the tasks connecting with communication and post. This person can practice his authorities (except the framing decrees and other inalienable power) by means of the information technology governmental commissioner.

All the functions respectively all the authority and scope of the Information Technology Government Commissariat connected with the attainment of the Information Society, were laid down in governmental regulation 100/2000. (VI.23.)”

Principal tasks of the Governmental Commissariat:

• elaborating of the governmental strategy with reference to the information society

• planning and accomplishment governmental duties that are necessaries for guaranteeing of equal chances and adapting citizens to the information society

• reorganization the function of public administration closely related to the new possibilities of the informatics

• composing the projects of the new technologies and procedures connected with the governmental adoption

• practicing the authorities of communication

• sanctioning the annual plan of stamp issue

• contributing to manage the tasks of the price authority

• providing for the supervision the functions of the Chief Communication Inspectorate

• promoting the coordination among the administrative authorities, the local development and the civil spheres

• framing the conditions required to the propagation of electronic trade and services

• watching the courses of the Information Society and originating the necessary interventions

• promoting the Hungarian interests with especial regard to EU on international level

The organizational structure of the Information Technology Government Commissariat

Considering the functions listed above and the developmental direction of the information society, the Information Technology Governmental Commissariat ruptured the division of labour that has been organized by sector basis so far. In our workmanships, we cannot think merely the communication and information technology, but the Information Society in a wider sense. We created the three main categories in the governmental commissariat in compliance with this new view.

Principally the Regulating Main Section is responsible for preparing the provisions of laws and for managing the classical communication tasks. The Main Section of the Information Technology is accountable for the governmental promotions or supported by the government, for solving the strategic problems of information society, and furthermore for the monitoring. The Main Section of the Electronic Government is liable for the modernizing the communication and informatics of the government and for attainment the open administration.

In March, 2000 the Szechenyi Plan was created to promote the accomplishment in the Ministry.

Parts of the Szechenyi Plan:

• Enterprises Confirming Program

• Research, Development and Innovation Program

• Informational Society and Economy Developmental Program

• Tourism Development Program

• Regional Economic Planning Program

• Motorway Development Program

• Home Program

The parts of the Szechenyi Plan, relating to the development of the Information Society, entered the management of the Information Technology Government Commissariat. One can be shared in the sources intended certain program by competitions.

The ‘Science and Technology Politics 2000’ was composed to encourage and support the domestic R& D activities. This document contains the long-term developmental programs of the Hungarian science, technology, and innovation. It is based on the prospective plans and wide-ranging conceptions of the national intellectual, economic and political spheres. It was the first time in Hungary that such program was managed to find time for composing and publishing.

In order to coordinate the infrastructure and other technical developments the government established the National Technical Development Committee (OMFB). This organization was integrated with constitutional department of the Ministry of Education as Research Development Deputy Undersecretaries on 1^st January, 2000.

Consequently the bureaucracy connecting with the 5. Framework Program and the competition of IKTA moved to the Technological Department of Information Society of Research Development Deputy Undersecretaries.

The National Communication and Informatics Council is an advisory body established according to the statutes relating to the media. Its fundamental duties are to offer advice, opinion, comments and suggestions for the government to assist processes in the field of telecommunication and informatics. An important aspect of its work is to ensure that the individual participant regions have equal opportunities in the competition for markets. Since the statutes on media closed the National Frequency Economic Council, the right of comment of the National Division of Frequencies also fell into their remit and their suggestions also extend into regulatory issues, too.

The Informatics Arbitration Forum (Inforum) is an organisation for those connected to informatics services, and its members are the delegates of regulatory organisations, representatives of end users, organisations ensuring the representation of service suppliers, and non profit institutions. The dual functions of the Forum are to ensure an opportunity to articulate views and to help to achieve consensus in the area of informatics service supplies, and to represent the interests of its members within the most varied related expert organisations and in legislation. The Forum endeavors to participate in forming opinion, drafting bills, as well as in regulatory functions, in the most effective way possible.

“By means of the advisory opinions the long term operative modernization in Hungary can accelerate and thus the Information Society could realize in future. The document recites all the essential actions on governmental, legislative and social levels, because Hungary cannot be able to close up in the economy without governmental strategies, legislative arrangements, and economical, social, information programs. In the last decade, several preliminary treatises were written about the challenges caused by the information society, which in addition outline the possible responses, too. Up till now the governmental thesis, the scientific dissertations, and other works, made by the significant assistant of the information profession, have not conduced to effectuate the concrete strategies and statutory provisions, passed by the government. To promote the conditions, the Information Interest Agree Forum composed the Hungarian Information Technology Charta. This document contains and details all the governmental and social tasks in pursuance of the Hungarian middle-, and long term strategies, that must be attained as soon as possible in order to Hungary could join in the highly-developed, competitive, welfare, and Information Societies.

The fact that in 1995 the first concept of informatics development in Hungary, the National Informatics Strategy, which the Hungarian parliament accepted, arose from the initiatives of these organisations demonstrates the intense participation of civil organisations dealing with the Hungarian information society.

In addition to the research institute, INFONIA (Foundation for Information Society and Information Culture) has been operating for this November. The aim of the organization is to promote the research activities and projects that can encourage the development of the information society. The ISTRI is instrumental in the elaboration of the information strategies in Hungarian regions (for example the WESTPANNON region).

• the application and development of information technology, and the dissemination of results;
• the preservation and/or advancement of the prestige, quality and ethics of the profession;
• the enforcement of the opinions and interests of professionals specializing in information technology, and/or applying information technology aids and methods in other professional areas;
• broad range participation in international professional life;
• providing information to, and facilitating the exchange of experience among information technology experts;
• spreading of the culture of information technology and education.

This year the Presidium of the NJSZT (http://www.njszt.hu/) is going to hasten the establishment of such professional community, integrated various trade workshops, which explicitly would solve the problems of the information society.

The Federation of Technical and Scientific Societies (MTESZ) was established in 1948. Its aim was to coordinate the work of the founder fourteen professional societies of that time, to help their collaboration and to protect their interests. Nowadays there are forty-three societies in the federation; almost all Hungarian professional-scientific organizations belong to MTESZ. These organizations have more than one hundred thousand members altogether, mainly engineers, researchers, agrarian, financial experts and of natural sciences, economists, the representatives of the so-called technical intelligantsia.

The Hungarian Telehouse Association came about in January 1995 with the aim of aiding the Hungarian Telehouse movement. Nearly two hundred community communication centres now operate nationwide, opening up the opportunity for the inhabitants to familiarise themselves with and make use of modern technology and the opportunities of the internet.

The National Association of Intelligent Settlements emerged in January 1999 and carries out public service activities. Its members comprise of settlements and enterprises of various sizes, other public administrative organisations, foundations and private individuals. The Association opens new perspectives for national settlements and enterprises in the field of the development of services connected with the internet. The aims of this social organisation are to assist the formation of information connections between the individual settlements through the dissemination of developmental and operational experiences known and practiced for several decades in western Europe.

According to the recommendations of the OMFB, the Hungarian National Host was established as association under the auspices of the KHVM in October, 1998. This organization has been member of the international hosts’ network. According to its functions and taking part in the programs of EU, it can accelerate creating the Hungarian info communication infrastructure, proportionate to the future demands. Aims of the Association:

This year by initiation of IVSZ, a professional consortium (supported by the KHVM and later by the Information Government Commissariat), commenced elaborating the fundamentals of information monitoring in Hungary. Due to this, a systematic information statistics can be made within the domain of the companies of the IVSZ from 2001. Its results can give us correct data about the preparedness of the infrastructure and information in Hungary.

The ten biggest Hungarian telecommunication and computer technology companies brought about the INFOKOM Association. The main tasks of the Association are the following: effective and active participation in developing the Hungarian information society with a special focus on the EU integrational processes; assisting the processes of convergence in the fields of information technology, telecommunications and electronic media, as well as the representation of the common interest of the members, phrasing and voicing expert viewpoints in the national legislative and regulative processes.

INFOPARK is a scientific and technical park giving home to research and development activities of societies active mostly in businesses of informatics and other related fields. The supported industrial sub-branches are the following: informatics, telecommunications, dataprocessing equipment, electronic consumer goods, technologies using multimedia, process government/automating technologies and software development, along with related service and complementary branches. The aim of establishing INFOPARK was to create a scientific and technical park that can serve two functions simultaneously: one the one hand it offers a base for the research and development activities of international and Hungarian companies, and on the other to serve as a base and centre for modern and prime technologies to be developed in the country.

In Hungary both the printed and the electronic press gives voice to views, suggestions, and so on about the forming of an information society. The main forums of publications on the information society are on-line news letters, and the printed professional press (such as journals, informatics papers, etc.) often also accessible in electronic format. Expert programmes of public service/civil and commercial television as well as the informatics supplements of national dailies discuss the issue.

Processes within the realms of media are overseen by the National Radio and Television Board (ORTT) established by the media statutes in 1996 in order to realize free information, information flow, and freedom of speech.