Governance of Internet development in rural areas in the context of territorial competitiveness: the case of Poland

Modern Information and Communication Technologies are recognized as a main factor stimulating socio-economic development of urban and rural areas. The aim of this article is to investigate the ICT potential in the process of improvement in competitiveness of rural areas. The classical theoretical development approaches are presented in the context of ICT territorial distribution. On the basis of the case study conducted in Poland the main obstacles to the Internet development in rural areas are analysed. Potential role of the Internet technologies in the process of competitiveness improvement of rural areas is investigated. The analyses have been done with respect to different functional types of rural areas.