Summary:

The article is discussing about the communication availability of rural gminas in metropolitan areas. The survey includes analysis of the communication availability in Łódź Metropolitan Area. The communication availability of these local governments lets them to build the their competitiveness. The article is also presenting the level of socio-economic development of rural gminas of Łódź Met-ropolitan Area. The growth indicator was created with the taxonomical measure of development proposed by Hellwig. This method allows for lining local units up using the presented level of development. The next step is creating rankings of this measure which can be subject of in-depth analysis. According to assumptions of UE programs rural areas should develop as a whole multifunctional area. The infrastructure and multifunctional development affect on attraction of rural areas particularly in metropolitan areas. It refers both the communication availability of the gmina and providing with the appropriate service quality for local community. It must be combined with the widely comprehended technical infrastructure and institutional infrastructure. The method presented in the article, show the rural gminas with highest socio-economic development using the communication availability as one of measures of this aspect. The article is also an attempt at comparing rankings of the communication availability and the socio-economic development.