History of the internet in the Czech Republic: From eccentrics to a world of networks

It was 13 February 1992 and in lecture hall number 256 of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering of the Czech Technical University (ČVUT) in Dejvice, Prague, a historic moment was approaching: a ceremonial act during which Czechoslovakia connected to the internet for the first time.

Surprisingly, the general public at the time took what experts now see as a turning point in our modern history rather coolly. Though perhaps there is no reason to be surprised. The very beginnings of the internet in Czechoslovakia concerned a rather narrow group of "eccentrics": IT specialists, academics and enthusiasts who, as early as the start of the 1990s, were trying to connect to networks such as FidoNet or EUnet.

By the way, do not imagine that in 1992 this was the internet as we know it today. Seen through today's eyes, the connection at the time ran at a ridiculous speed of 19.2 kilobits per second. Yes, you read that right: at this speed you would download one smaller picture in almost half an hour.

CESNET started writing the history of the Czech internet

But everything only really began with 13 February 1992. The enthusiasts of the time came up with a bold idea: to connect all academic institutions in Czechoslovakia, so that individual research sites could share information and data simply and quickly.

It was then that an ambitious project was born, which we now know by the abbreviation FESNET (Federal Educational and Scientific NETwork), and which was to become the backbone internet network between academic institutions across the whole federation.

As in other areas of life, here too politics unexpectedly intervened: on 1 January 1993, two independent states were created in place of the original Czechoslovakia, and the original FESNET thus split into two separate projects: the Slovak SANET (Slovak Academic Network) and the Czech CESNET (Czech Educational and Scientific Network).

The Czech CESNET, which was officially launched on 15 June 1993, was soon followed by smaller, local networks (such as the Prague PASNET). It did not take long before the internet reached all academic users in the Czech Republic. The internet as we know it today, however, it was definitely not yet. It only became available to ordinary users a few years later.

Take a look at how much CESNET cost in 1994:

The end of the monopoly and of dial-up connections

As in other areas of life in the early 1990s, internet users soon ran into clearly defined boundaries dictated by the legislation of the time. Right at the start of the 1990s, the exclusive licence to operate a public data network (and therefore also the internet) was obtained by the company Eurotel.

It began providing the internet via a dial-up connection (so users paid for the time they spent on the internet), and the connection speed was roughly 76 kilobits per second. The Eurotel era did not last long, however. In 1995 it sold its data division to SPT Telecom, and arguably the best-known monopoly in modern Czech history was thus consigned to the past.

The massive influx of new internet service providers was only heralded in 1998. That was when Telecom made a huge mistake: it announced a significant increase in the price of dial-up internet from January 1999. And the public did not let it go unchallenged. A public campaign called "Internet against the monopoly" ultimately demonstrated the enormous power of consumers: Telecom backed down from its plans and offered customers a much more favourable price for dial-up access.

By then, however, the death knell was already ringing for dial-up connections. After the first liberalisation of the internet market in 1995, new internet service providers began to spring up like mushrooms after rain (by 1998 there were almost two hundred of them). Among them was ÚVT Internet, which at the start of the new millennium came up with a groundbreaking approach: it began offering internet as part of a monthly flat-rate plan. For dial-up connections, this meant the gradual end.

The first big websites

By the way, it was between 1995 and 1998 that the first major internet sites also began to appear in the Czech Republic. And many of them not only survived, but have become large media houses of national importance. Worth mentioning, for example, is the search engine Seznam.cz, which started operating in 1996. In the same year, the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house of parliament) launched its website, and the first media outlets began moving their content online (for example, Mladá fronta DNES or Právo).

In November 1996, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) registered its own internet address as the first political entity in the Czech Republic, followed in February 1997 by the Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD). And already in 1998, customers of Expandia Banka were the first to be able to use internet banking.

The internet boom in the new millennium

Now let us move forward in time by a few years, to the start of the new millennium. It was then that the possibilities of the new era truly showed themselves. The former monopoly on providing internet connections was a thing of the past, as were high prices for dial-up internet. And the golden age of the internet in the Czech Republic could finally begin.

By 2002 the first users were already connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi, and in 2003 SkyNet became the first company in the Czech Republic to offer fast internet using ADSL technology. In the same year, Eurotel, as the very first Czech mobile operator, announced unlimited internet access for a regular monthly flat rate.

One more thing about 2002. That was when CZFree.Net was created, originally a Prague amateur computer network. It gradually spread across the whole country and, true to the principle of "contribute and use", allowed anyone to connect to the internet (at their own expense). Many very good technicians left the freenets and set up their own proper companies.

All these factors led to the inevitable: the internet became an integral part of our lives. This became clear as early as 2010. That was when the Czech Statistical Office announced that the share of Czech households connected to the internet had finally passed the magic threshold of 50 per cent.

And another turning point came just two years later: in 2012 the first users connected to the internet via a mobile LTE connection. It offered a dizzying transmission speed for the time of 60 Mbps (let us recall 1992, when the internet reached an average speed of 19.2 kbps).

TIP: You may also like to read the article Home connection on the LTE network. A tempting offer, or a delayed problem?

Regional providers (not only) for small municipalities

Today, the internet could never have become what it is without the network of regional providers. What is that? The internet, as we know it, consists of individual backbone networks. These are usually controlled by large multinational companies, which certainly do not find it worthwhile to build internet connections into every small village. And this is where regional internet providers step in.

Today they make the path to the internet significantly easier for users. Put simply: instead of users depending on the operator of the backbone network, regional providers sign a contract with the backbone network operator in their place. They then distribute the internet themselves to other interested parties from among ordinary users, including residents of the smallest towns and municipalities. Even large operators rent infrastructure from each other. Today, regional operators build their infrastructure between towns and within towns in the region using the same technologies as the multinational giants. They differ only in the last-mile technology, unless it is a fibre network all the way to the building. In that case they do not differ in technology at all, and on the contrary, they have a great advantage in sufficiently dimensioned capacity in the given region.

We would live differently without the internet

To sum up: wherever we live, the internet is today an integral part of our lives. According to data from the Association for Internet Development and the Czech Statistical Office, 7.3 million Czechs over the age of ten have an internet connection. Almost 83% of Czech households and 98% of companies have a fixed internet connection. According to VNICTP, the association of regional operators, internet unavailability is even less than one per cent. The remaining 16% of Czech households and two per cent of companies do not want the internet for some reason.

No wonder: basic internet coverage of 2 Mbps now extends to almost the entire territory of the Czech Republic. According to data from the Czech Telecommunication Office (CTU), by 2020 all Czech households will have the option of a connection at 30 Mbps, with the exception of a small number in remote rural areas.

Thanks to this, we can shop online, make payments, consume news and entertainment, and communicate with friends, even if only virtually.

By the way, the Czech economy also benefits from this. Internet business currently accounts for roughly 5% of GDP, which is certainly not a negligible figure. And online shops are doing well too: the share of Czech online stores in retail sales exceeded ten per cent for the first time last year. In 2017 their revenues rose to CZK 115 billion.

Author: Alžběta Švarcová

Updated 5 March 2024