People living in the rural areas are usually poor and rely on their land to make for a living; children from these areas usually don't have access to a computer and Internet. To assist the Government of the FYR of Macedonia in fostering economic growth and the increase of Internet penetration in the country, USAID through the MK Connects project continues to provide broadband Internet access to schools and universities, in both rural and urban areas. This will create the conditions for delivery of Broadband Internet Connectivity to the education system as well as to the business community and the general public.

Policy Context

Very important event for the project was the law on telecommunications which has put to an end the monopoly of Macedonia Telecom.

Description of target users and groups

Students and children living in rural areas.

Description of the way to implement the initiative

The foloowing text is excerpt from FT.com: "The idea for this project came from the late president Boris Trajkovski. His vision was that Macedonian children need greater IT training. In a official visit to China he secured a grant to equip macedonian schools with chinese-made computers. Meanwhile, the Government of Macedonia negotiated with Microsoft, for a donation of over 6,000 licenses for a software which includes the XP Operating System, Microsoft Office, Frontpage, and Encarta. Microsoft also donated Microsoft Server. President Trajkovski realised that without internet access, the children would remain at a disadvantage. He approached the US Agency for International Development (USAid) which has been funding projects in Macedonia for a decade. USAid engaged the Academy for Economic Development (AED), a US non-profit organisation, to bring internet access to Macedonia’s schools. But the project faced a big barrier, namely the prohibitive cost of internet access in Macedonia – more than €150 a month for a slow dial-up connection. A local ISP, On.Net, won the contract with a proposal to bypass Macedonian telecom’s infrastructure and blanket the country using wireless broadband. In August 2005, On.Net completed the wireless backbone and a month later it had connected all the schools"

Technology solution

The network uses Motorolla's Canopy for backhaul. In population centers, it uses mesh equipment from Strix Systems. Technology choice: Proprietary technology

Main results, benefits and impacts

MK Connects revolutionized life in FYR of Macedonia – in schools, at work, and at home – by expanding internet access to nearly every citizen, creating competition that has drastically reduced the price of internet access, and serving to increase internet penetration from 7 to 32 percent in just three years. The Government has committed to sustain these legacies by providing a computer to every student and by providing free internet to schools into the future. Another benefit from this project is that the prices for broadband connection went down from 120 euros per month to 23 euros per month

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Lessons learnt

Lesson 1 - Internet access in schools in crucial in helping students to be prepared for a life in a modern information society Lesson 2 - Creation of the broadband network was the first example of a network that can existed independently of the macedonian telecommunications. This network proved that cost for internet can be substantially lowered. Lesson 3 - The project MK Connects assisted in breaking the monopoly of the macedonian telecommunications and helped the emerging ISPs to become self-sustainable. Scope: National