The blind can use quite well modern information technologies.
Most of them access the Internet every day. Nonetheless, it has been proved that a blind person, with the same computing experience as a sighted user, needs four times more to find a piece of information on the Internet. (The research carried out in the Netherlands 1999-2000, publicized on the ICCHP2000 conference).

It is, therefore, not difficult to conclude that the blind Internet users will have to pay a four times higher fee by their local ISP than the sighted users. It is unjust and in one of its segments causes violation of the basic human rights of access to information.

On the other hand, in the world, there are Isp providers that provide Internet services free of charge to all their users. Sometimes, users have to buy food in the same supermarket, or must have displayed some advertisements on the eighth part of their screen. The ISPs in our country still do not offer free services.

Given the small number of the blind (about 1,2% of all Croatian's population), should not present a big cost to any of Croatian ISPs. What is more, we are convinced that any ISP in Croatia that would provide these services to the blind, would create a human and positive image in the mass media.

Taken into consideration all its technical conditions, Croatian Library for the Blind has all the necessary equipment (30 channel rooter, a server, LAN) and could give its Internet service providing to the blind. If we find any support or understanding among Croatian ISPs for this part of the project, we will give them all technical and publicity support to launch this project.

In the western countries, whose economic situation is much better, there has not been such an initiative. (Everybody can access the Internet.) The economic situation in our country, and especially among visually impaired persons, is not so good, so that the Internet service providing for the blind in Croatia would be the first project of this kind in the world.