07 February 2009
BBC Story about Macedonia Connects - World's First All Broadband Wireless Country
This story by David Reid was created for the British TV show called "Click Online." David came to Macedonia after hearing about what the project had been able to accomplish in a short period of time. This show appeared in November 2005 just prior to the World Summit for Information Societies in Tunis, Tunisia. We received a great deal of worldwide press after this story played on the BBC.
History of the USAID Funded Macedonia Connects Project
This presentation is created by Alex Bilbilov a staff member of the Macedonia Connects project. This video shows our history as a time capsule from beginning to closure.
10 Cities With Widespread Wireless Internet by Alyssa Danigelis
Click for the entire story.
When asked about their picks for the ten cities in the world with free wireless, attendees at the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks in D.C. chuckled. It's not that simple, they responded. Cafes and office buildings might have free wireless, but they're not necessarily part of larger efforts. And, especially in the U.S., municipal wireless has clashed with profit-minded service providers, causing scrapped plans. One workaround: inexpensive mesh networks like FON, Boingo, and Whisher that allow participants to create hotspots wherever they are. So, while you're searching for a signal, broadband wireless activist Glenn Strachan suggests looking to these cities for widespread affordable access:
Radio Interview with Cyrus Farivar about Macedonia
Clicking on the title will result in leaving this Blog and going to an online player.
Over the last few years, wireless Internet access, known as WiFi, has become more and more widespread. Various cities, ranging from Philadelphia to Paris are currently building citywide WiFi networks. There are other efforts to wirelessly connect whole countries as well, like in Macedonia and Estonia. But each country’s path is different. Cyrus Farivar reports.
Dutch Press Article about Macedonia Connects (in Dutch)
Macedonia Connects received world wide press coverage including articles written in the Republic of Georgia, Estonia, Brazil, France and this one from Holland.
Time Magazine Article about Worldwide WIFI Projects
I am quoted throughout this article which appeared in Time Magazine.
PM Magazine Article about Macedonia Connects
Incredibly detailed report about the work we did in Macedonia. We are posing as a group at the top of the highest mountain overlooking Skopje, Macedonia.
06 February 2009
ISP Planet - Macedonia Connects
Macedonia Connects
http://www.isp-planet.com/profiles/2006/macedonia_connects.html
It took barely half a year to bring the internet to this nation's schools. We called up the project leader to learn how it happened.
by Alex Goldman
ISP-Planet Managing Editor
[August 29, 2006]
It's morning in New York, afternoon in Skopje, Macedonia (pronounced "scope-e-ya"), and we're talking to Glenn Strachan (on Skype, of course) about the project he leads that has connected Macedonia to the internet, called Macedonia Connects (MK Connects).
He's achieved a great thing. The latest usage report [.pdf] out of Macedonia, which measures internet usage for the first time, shows that 43 percent of the population uses a computer, and 27 percent uses the internet (some of these do not own their own computer or internet connection). That compares favorably, Strachan says, with many other Eastern European nations, which are generally wealthier than the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
The nation was connected in less than year, using wireless broadband technology.
That is particularly impressive considering FYROM has ethnic tensions between Macedonians and Albanians that nearly precipitated a civil war in 2001. In addition, the company has a quiescent but problematic dispute with Greece over the use of the word "Macedonia".
In addition to the ethnic tensions, Strachan had to contend with a familiar headache to telecom innovators everywhere: the local telecoms monopoly.
The project was able to get the law changed, partly, explains Strachan, because the changes were required by the EU membership process (for more on this process, see the Wikipedia articles on the Accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the European Union and the article on the basis of the agreement between FYROM and the EU: the acquis communautaire).
Writing an RFP
While the law was being changed, Strachan needed to write up an RFP. He says that USAID doesn't work with companies owned by foreign governments, so the RFP specified that the monopoly was not allowed to bid on the project.
In order to ensure that the monopoly couldn't cause the project to fail, he said that no interconnection with the ILEC, MT, was permitted.
The bid was for connectivity. "I didn't want to own any equipment. I wanted to pay a monthly fee for 28 months, with 25 percent upfront, 50 percent on delivery, and 25 percent after 1 year of connectivity."
In order to ensure that bidders were serious about the project, he ensured that bidders would pay half the cost of the buildout, with USAID paying the other half. "We needed to allow whoever won the bid to finance the network, and no banks would loan money to build a network they believed nobody would use."
Building infrastructure
There were four bids. The winning bid was a partnership between local ISP On.net and Motorola Israel, Strachan says.
The network therefore uses Canopy for backhaul. In population centers, it uses mesh equipment from Strix. In Skopje, the capital, On.net has a mesh network covering 15 square kilometers, Strachan says.
The contract was signed on April 25, 2005, and on September 26, 2005, the president proclaimed that FYROM was the world's first all-wireless nation.
So how did they do it so fast?
One big advantage, Strachan says, is that Tito, when he ruled Yugoslavia, built radio towers for surveillance and jamming. In FYROM, those towers were free, and the project uses 190 of them.
Motorola was also very helpful. The company trained the On.net technicians for the buildout.
On.net employed over 300 people for the buildout, Strachan says, and he himself had seven people.
Strachan says he's worked 18 hour days, seven day weeks, for the past 18 months.
Of course, Strachan himself was a key asset. He says he designed and built a 26 city WAN for WorldCom. When Worldcom imploded, he went into non-profit work and has built networks in Uganda and Romania, with projects ongoing in Guatemala and the Republic of Georgia.
Strachan is currently employed by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), which spreads education, citizenship, and democracy throughout the world. AED was founded in 1961 and its first project was in Kansas.
Achievements
For Strachan, the project's greatest achievement is an open, competitive market. Yes, the project connected over 500 schools and brought the internet to people who would never otherwise have had it, but Strachan's goals went beyond the connections. Strachan wanted an open market, key to building an open society for Macedonia, and he feels that his goals have been achieved.
Now that On.net is self-sufficient, it has a peering agreement with the monopoly. There's even a data center in Skopje where companies can interconnect. As a result, Macedonian traffic stays inside the nation instead of taking a hop outside through Herndon, Va. or the Netherlands or Israel.
The price of a metered internet connection has dropped from 120 Euro per month to 10 Euro (for 512/128 Kbps with a 9 GB monthly limit). Unlimited access is 25 Euro per month.
The second bidder for the project, a VAR called NeoCom, built NeoTel, so there are three companies providing internet access, not a duopoly.
On.net was acquired by Telecom Slovenia for 6.8 million Euros.
As to FYROM's ethnic tensions, a story by the Christian Science Monitor notes that there was speculation as to which ethnic group, Albanian or Macedonian, would get the first connected school. The politically adept education minister connected a Roma ("gypsy") school first.
What's next
Now that he's completed a project requiring 18 hour days for 18 months, Strachan is getting ready to start all over again.
By the time you read these words, Strachan will already be in Montenegro, another piece of former Yugoslavia, but one which presents special challenges. Earlier this year, the nation voted in favor of independence from Serbia, but by a very narrow margin, and is only now establishing its identity.
Strachan believes the Montenegro project will only need to use 19 towers, but they will not be free.
On January 1, 2007, the telecom market should liberalize (Montenegro's ILEC is related to Macedonia's), but at present, any company with an internet connection that goes outside the nation must pay a 120,000 Euro fee to per year for an international internet connection and a 5,000 Euro annual fee to be an ISP. "That will stymie the market," says Strachan.
Nevertheless, he knows what success requires. "It took a lot of people working together to get it done in Macedonia. I understand the predatory practices of the phone company, but I take with me the knowledge that it can be accomplished if enough people act together."
http://www.isp-planet.com/profiles/2006/macedonia_connects.html
It took barely half a year to bring the internet to this nation's schools. We called up the project leader to learn how it happened.
by Alex Goldman
ISP-Planet Managing Editor
[August 29, 2006]
It's morning in New York, afternoon in Skopje, Macedonia (pronounced "scope-e-ya"), and we're talking to Glenn Strachan (on Skype, of course) about the project he leads that has connected Macedonia to the internet, called Macedonia Connects (MK Connects).
He's achieved a great thing. The latest usage report [.pdf] out of Macedonia, which measures internet usage for the first time, shows that 43 percent of the population uses a computer, and 27 percent uses the internet (some of these do not own their own computer or internet connection). That compares favorably, Strachan says, with many other Eastern European nations, which are generally wealthier than the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).
The nation was connected in less than year, using wireless broadband technology.
That is particularly impressive considering FYROM has ethnic tensions between Macedonians and Albanians that nearly precipitated a civil war in 2001. In addition, the company has a quiescent but problematic dispute with Greece over the use of the word "Macedonia".
In addition to the ethnic tensions, Strachan had to contend with a familiar headache to telecom innovators everywhere: the local telecoms monopoly.
The project was able to get the law changed, partly, explains Strachan, because the changes were required by the EU membership process (for more on this process, see the Wikipedia articles on the Accession of the Republic of Macedonia to the European Union and the article on the basis of the agreement between FYROM and the EU: the acquis communautaire).
Writing an RFP
While the law was being changed, Strachan needed to write up an RFP. He says that USAID doesn't work with companies owned by foreign governments, so the RFP specified that the monopoly was not allowed to bid on the project.
In order to ensure that the monopoly couldn't cause the project to fail, he said that no interconnection with the ILEC, MT, was permitted.
The bid was for connectivity. "I didn't want to own any equipment. I wanted to pay a monthly fee for 28 months, with 25 percent upfront, 50 percent on delivery, and 25 percent after 1 year of connectivity."
In order to ensure that bidders were serious about the project, he ensured that bidders would pay half the cost of the buildout, with USAID paying the other half. "We needed to allow whoever won the bid to finance the network, and no banks would loan money to build a network they believed nobody would use."
Building infrastructure
There were four bids. The winning bid was a partnership between local ISP On.net and Motorola Israel, Strachan says.
The network therefore uses Canopy for backhaul. In population centers, it uses mesh equipment from Strix. In Skopje, the capital, On.net has a mesh network covering 15 square kilometers, Strachan says.
The contract was signed on April 25, 2005, and on September 26, 2005, the president proclaimed that FYROM was the world's first all-wireless nation.
So how did they do it so fast?
One big advantage, Strachan says, is that Tito, when he ruled Yugoslavia, built radio towers for surveillance and jamming. In FYROM, those towers were free, and the project uses 190 of them.
Motorola was also very helpful. The company trained the On.net technicians for the buildout.
On.net employed over 300 people for the buildout, Strachan says, and he himself had seven people.
Strachan says he's worked 18 hour days, seven day weeks, for the past 18 months.
Of course, Strachan himself was a key asset. He says he designed and built a 26 city WAN for WorldCom. When Worldcom imploded, he went into non-profit work and has built networks in Uganda and Romania, with projects ongoing in Guatemala and the Republic of Georgia.
Strachan is currently employed by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), which spreads education, citizenship, and democracy throughout the world. AED was founded in 1961 and its first project was in Kansas.
Achievements
For Strachan, the project's greatest achievement is an open, competitive market. Yes, the project connected over 500 schools and brought the internet to people who would never otherwise have had it, but Strachan's goals went beyond the connections. Strachan wanted an open market, key to building an open society for Macedonia, and he feels that his goals have been achieved.
Now that On.net is self-sufficient, it has a peering agreement with the monopoly. There's even a data center in Skopje where companies can interconnect. As a result, Macedonian traffic stays inside the nation instead of taking a hop outside through Herndon, Va. or the Netherlands or Israel.
The price of a metered internet connection has dropped from 120 Euro per month to 10 Euro (for 512/128 Kbps with a 9 GB monthly limit). Unlimited access is 25 Euro per month.
The second bidder for the project, a VAR called NeoCom, built NeoTel, so there are three companies providing internet access, not a duopoly.
On.net was acquired by Telecom Slovenia for 6.8 million Euros.
As to FYROM's ethnic tensions, a story by the Christian Science Monitor notes that there was speculation as to which ethnic group, Albanian or Macedonian, would get the first connected school. The politically adept education minister connected a Roma ("gypsy") school first.
What's next
Now that he's completed a project requiring 18 hour days for 18 months, Strachan is getting ready to start all over again.
By the time you read these words, Strachan will already be in Montenegro, another piece of former Yugoslavia, but one which presents special challenges. Earlier this year, the nation voted in favor of independence from Serbia, but by a very narrow margin, and is only now establishing its identity.
Strachan believes the Montenegro project will only need to use 19 towers, but they will not be free.
On January 1, 2007, the telecom market should liberalize (Montenegro's ILEC is related to Macedonia's), but at present, any company with an internet connection that goes outside the nation must pay a 120,000 Euro fee to per year for an international internet connection and a 5,000 Euro annual fee to be an ISP. "That will stymie the market," says Strachan.
Nevertheless, he knows what success requires. "It took a lot of people working together to get it done in Macedonia. I understand the predatory practices of the phone company, but I take with me the knowledge that it can be accomplished if enough people act together."
Wireless in Macedonia - PRI International Report Cyrus Farivar
This story, created by Cyrus Farivar is a piece about the work in Macedonia and comes from the view of one of the vendors.
PRI/The World "Google and O3B" Interview by Clark Boyd
I am one of the people interviewed in this piece about Google and its participation in the O3B project (Other Three Billion) which can be seen at:
http://www.o3bnetworks.com/
Google's For the Birds
Posted using ShareThis
Click for entire story.
Glenn Strachan, an independent IT consultant with extensive experience in rolling out wireless broadband in the developing world, sees some real sticking points. He notes that while some countries like Kenya and Rwanda have liberalized their ISP and cell phone provider markets, the same does not hold true for many African countries. "In Senegal," he told me, "the controlling monopoly is Sonatel. And they're not about to disperse, at low cost, this new Internet access. There's no regulatory environement in Senegal that would allow alternative ISPs to gain access."
05 February 2009
BBC Coverage of Macedonia Connects
BBC NEWS
Macedonia leads world with wi-fi
By David Reid
Reporter, BBC Click Online
Formerly part of Yugoslavia and previously better known as a potential ethnic trouble spot, Macedonia is now rapidly becoming a wi-fi hotspot.
While Macedonia was spared the violence that took hold of the region after the break up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, more recently all eyes were on the country when its own ethnic tensions began to boil over.
Luckily it avoided full-blown civil war. It is now on the brink of leading the world in what could be a template for other developing states, becoming the first wireless country.
Macedonia is dotted with villages. The mostly ethnic Albanians who live here are poor and rely for their livelihood on working whatever land they have.
Their day-to-day lives rarely involve computers, let alone the internet.
But a project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has brought broadband internet access to hundreds of such remote villages in Macedonia by putting the country's 460 primary and secondary schools online.
Affordable access
While the computers for the labs came from China, USAID's side of the project, called Macedonia Connects, was to pay for a local company to provide wireless internet access for the nation's schools, and while doing so roll out a wireless communication network across the country.
Leigh Shamblin, of USAID Macedonia, said: "We're paying for internet services in schools for two years, and because we did that the local ISP, which was chosen through the competitive process, was able to build out this network.
"That will allow internet access to become affordable and accessible to people in many sectors of society."
In laying out its own national network, On.Net, the Macedonian company doing the work on the ground, had to go up against the local telecoms giant which enjoyed a comfortable monopoly.
"Traditionally, like in every country, there is an incumbent telecoms operator who possess all the wires across a country. And they are of course in a monopolistic environment," said On.Net's Predrag Cemerikik.
"What we did is build our own backbone network across the country, and last mile access to overcome that situation."
The network makes use of Macedonia's bumpy terrain by using mountains as distribution points for wireless connectivity, a network connecting the parts copper wires cannot reach.
Glenn Strachan, project director of Macedonia Connects, said: "I think when people hear 'wireless' these days they think of wi-fi connectivity and Wimax, which is the newest brand of wireless connectivity.
"What we have is an ability to transmit wirelessly throughout the country, and then put a piece of equipment at the school anywhere in this country.
"Those people, once they have that piece of equipment, will have internet connectivity."
By using what is called mesh technology, Macedonia Connects is creating not wi-fi hot-spots, but hot-zones which stretch 15 kilometres over a city.
Building bridges?
Opinions are divided on projects like Macedonia Connects. Some question whether many of these people really need broadband connectivity, and others insist the internet should stand alongside roads, water and electricity as essential infrastructure.
In Macedonia, where the spectre of a civil war that was narrowly avoided still remains, there is faith that the internet might ease community tensions.
In schools, for example, ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians are often taught separately.
In some schools there are two different principals, two different sets of teachers, and two different names depending on which ethnic group is attending at the time.
The hope is that the Macedonia Connects project will bridge some of these divisions.
"It should serve as a very useful tool for interactive communication between multi-ethnic schools. They can organise a debate between them. They can organise some events between them," said Zoran Popovski, secretary of state for education and science.
If people living in the same town cannot get on it might be an idle hope that the internet will magically get them talking to each other.
What the internet can do, however, is what it has done everywhere else: help businesses make money.
"We need the internet as a sea," said Jani Makraduli, MP and president of the Macedonia technology committee.
"Macedonia is not on the sea, so we think that the internet is our sea and an open window for a lot of economic changes and new economic growth in our country."
The internet might not be the hi-tech cure for Macedonia's ethnic tensions, however what is going on here could certainly be a template for other medium-sized countries.
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia might be the first wireless country. But it is unlikely to be the last.
Click Online is broadcast on BBC News 24: Saturday at 2030, Sunday at 0430 and 1630, and on Monday at 0030. A short version is also shown on BBC Two as part of BBC Breakfast: Saturday at 0645. Also BBC World .
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4427960.stm
Published: 2005/11/11 16:33:05 GMT
Macedonia leads world with wi-fi
By David Reid
Reporter, BBC Click Online
Formerly part of Yugoslavia and previously better known as a potential ethnic trouble spot, Macedonia is now rapidly becoming a wi-fi hotspot.
While Macedonia was spared the violence that took hold of the region after the break up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, more recently all eyes were on the country when its own ethnic tensions began to boil over.
Luckily it avoided full-blown civil war. It is now on the brink of leading the world in what could be a template for other developing states, becoming the first wireless country.
Macedonia is dotted with villages. The mostly ethnic Albanians who live here are poor and rely for their livelihood on working whatever land they have.
Their day-to-day lives rarely involve computers, let alone the internet.
But a project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has brought broadband internet access to hundreds of such remote villages in Macedonia by putting the country's 460 primary and secondary schools online.
Affordable access
While the computers for the labs came from China, USAID's side of the project, called Macedonia Connects, was to pay for a local company to provide wireless internet access for the nation's schools, and while doing so roll out a wireless communication network across the country.
Leigh Shamblin, of USAID Macedonia, said: "We're paying for internet services in schools for two years, and because we did that the local ISP, which was chosen through the competitive process, was able to build out this network.
"That will allow internet access to become affordable and accessible to people in many sectors of society."
In laying out its own national network, On.Net, the Macedonian company doing the work on the ground, had to go up against the local telecoms giant which enjoyed a comfortable monopoly.
"Traditionally, like in every country, there is an incumbent telecoms operator who possess all the wires across a country. And they are of course in a monopolistic environment," said On.Net's Predrag Cemerikik.
"What we did is build our own backbone network across the country, and last mile access to overcome that situation."
The network makes use of Macedonia's bumpy terrain by using mountains as distribution points for wireless connectivity, a network connecting the parts copper wires cannot reach.
Glenn Strachan, project director of Macedonia Connects, said: "I think when people hear 'wireless' these days they think of wi-fi connectivity and Wimax, which is the newest brand of wireless connectivity.
"What we have is an ability to transmit wirelessly throughout the country, and then put a piece of equipment at the school anywhere in this country.
"Those people, once they have that piece of equipment, will have internet connectivity."
By using what is called mesh technology, Macedonia Connects is creating not wi-fi hot-spots, but hot-zones which stretch 15 kilometres over a city.
Building bridges?
Opinions are divided on projects like Macedonia Connects. Some question whether many of these people really need broadband connectivity, and others insist the internet should stand alongside roads, water and electricity as essential infrastructure.
In Macedonia, where the spectre of a civil war that was narrowly avoided still remains, there is faith that the internet might ease community tensions.
In schools, for example, ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians are often taught separately.
In some schools there are two different principals, two different sets of teachers, and two different names depending on which ethnic group is attending at the time.
The hope is that the Macedonia Connects project will bridge some of these divisions.
"It should serve as a very useful tool for interactive communication between multi-ethnic schools. They can organise a debate between them. They can organise some events between them," said Zoran Popovski, secretary of state for education and science.
If people living in the same town cannot get on it might be an idle hope that the internet will magically get them talking to each other.
What the internet can do, however, is what it has done everywhere else: help businesses make money.
"We need the internet as a sea," said Jani Makraduli, MP and president of the Macedonia technology committee.
"Macedonia is not on the sea, so we think that the internet is our sea and an open window for a lot of economic changes and new economic growth in our country."
The internet might not be the hi-tech cure for Macedonia's ethnic tensions, however what is going on here could certainly be a template for other medium-sized countries.
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia might be the first wireless country. But it is unlikely to be the last.
Click Online is broadcast on BBC News 24: Saturday at 2030, Sunday at 0430 and 1630, and on Monday at 0030. A short version is also shown on BBC Two as part of BBC Breakfast: Saturday at 0645. Also BBC World .
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/click_online/4427960.stm
Published: 2005/11/11 16:33:05 GMT
Macedonia Transformed Through Broadband
Nov 9, 2007, By Indrajit Basu
As Milivoje Gorgevic (Misko to his friends), executive producer and co-founder of the FX3X, a Macedonia-based digital animation company, came out of a late-evening meeting, the only thing he wanted was to go home for some well-earned rest. The day was particularly grueling for him and he was tired. But he had to rush to his office to finalize plans for roping in yet another local school to make it a part of his company's education program.
"We are growing very fast," said Misko, "and we need more skilled people in our company and the schools in Macedonia are our biggest source."
FX3X runs education programs in 80 secondary schools in Macedonia on the basics of animation and uses those schools for developing the talent pool it needs to expand. Back in 1997, when Misko and his friend Kristijan Danilovski started their visual effects and 3D animation venture in the Balkans, they had to be content serving just the local markets. "Although we wanted to serve the global markets, there was hardly any infrastructure and not enough talent to support our ideas," says Misko "But thanks to USAID and the Macedonia Connect (MK) project, FX3X has been growing at over a hundred percent each year for the last two years. The wireless infrastructure that MK incorporates has not only given us the opportunity to build a talent pool in Macedonia but also an opportunity to tap the global markets."
"Two years ago we hardly had any foreign clients," added Misko. "Today with MK, big data transfers are not a problem any more. We have reached a point where we derive just 10 percent of our total revenues from local clients while the balance comes from global clients."
Indeed, it is hard to imagine that a country -- formerly part of Yugoslavia -- which until about six years back was an ethnic trouble spot torn by the conflict between government and ethnic Albanian rebels. Today, it easily serves as a role model for other developing states as the first wireless country. But courtesy the nationwide wireless project MK, that has brought broadband Internet access to almost 95 percent of the country's residents, Macedonia can now look forward to moving from a conflict-torn region to an economy moving forward on information, communication and technology (ICT).
Funded partly by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and partly by the Macedonian Government, the $5 million (shared equally by the two), Macedonia Connects is a three-year program which is providing broadband Internet connectivity to almost 545 elementary and secondary schools, research institutes, universities and dorms throughout the Republic of Macedonia.
Initially it was conceived as an education project but it was soon realized that the project could also achieve other strategic objectives like economic development and democracy. The network was soon extended to almost to the whole of Macedonia, reaching rural communities scattered throughout the rugged mountainous countryside to become the backbone for a national wireless system.
"The impact of the project has been enormous as Macedonia now enjoys the benefits that a broadband wireless network generally brings to a developing country," says Glenn Strachan, a former USAID contractor who directed the MK activity and is now an independent contractor. But besides the fact that MK increased Internet penetration dramatically (from 4 percent to almost 33 percent), which has enabled most residents of Macedonia -- who migrate from their small villages and move to the capital city of Skopje to find employment -- to start a business outside Skopje and communicate with new clients around the world (like Misko, many apparel companies, and even lamb farmers, who for the first time, have found markets outside Macedonia by opening a website) MK stands out from similar other projects.
For one, says Strachan, MK has ushered in competition in a monopolistic telecom environment that has not only created telecom laws for the first time but has also drastically reduced cost of Internet and telecom access in the country. According to Strachan, when the project began implementation in 2004 there was just one state-owned telecom operator that charged about $150 per month for a broadband account "while the average salary in Macedonia was $450."
Now, the cost of a basic broadband connection has come down to about $10 while the new telecom law has allowed private telecom operators to compete freely in Macedonia. "In fact On.Net, the local telecom operator that worked with USAID to set up the network has even emerged as one of the largest telcos there," says Strachan. "The project could not have been successful without changes in the telecom regulatory environment."
MK has also shown that private-public partnerships can work effectively. "One reason why Internet access was suffering in Macedonia was that there was neither capital nor initiative from the government. This project worked because USAID provided the critical capital, which was key to establishing a Public-Private-partnership solution. This ultimately brought benefit not only to the schools, but also the general public at large who benefited from the lowered costs for Internet access," Strachan says.
Nevertheless the biggest achievement of MK is perhaps the fact that the Macedonian government now realizes that a broadband network is crucial for the country's development. Funding from the USAID, which is still running the network, is ending this year. However, having seen the results, the government has already stated that it is "committed to the network and will continue to provide free Internet for all Macedonian schools."
"Although the details of the future funding are still being worked out," said Antonio Atanasov, advisor to the Ministry for Information Society, Macedonia, "what has been decided already is that from 2008 the project will run by Ministry of Education and Science with financial support from the government of the Republic of Macedonia."
Meanwhile to increase the efficiency and transparency of public sector management in the country, the government has already implemented a slew of e-government initiatives around the network that includes online applications for government jobs, electronic health registers, an electronic system for tax filing, electronic system for public procurement, automated allocation of cargo transport licenses, and most importantly, a national e-budgeting process "that will provide a modern, efficient electronic tool for preparation of the national budget and the monitoring of its execution."
---------
Indrajit Basu is the international correspondent for Government Technology's Digital Communities.
NY Times - Macedonia Dreams of One Nation, Wireless
April 3, 2006
Macedonia Dreams of One Nation, Wireless
By NICHOLAS WOOD
Correction Appended
KANATLARCI, Macedonia — Thirteen-year-old Nustreta Mimovic's hand trembled as she placed it over the computer mouse. Slowly she dragged the mouse and watched the screen, as her fellow students looked on.
"I'd love to know how to use it, but I don't have a computer," she explained, giving up the controls to another pupil.
Nustreta's unfamiliarity with technology is common in Macedonia, a poor former Yugoslav republic where it is estimated that as little as 4 percent of the population has regular access to computers and the Internet.
Within a year, if the government has its way, those figures could be turned around with the creation of a wireless Internet network that will be the world's largest, covering the entire nation.
Supporters of the network believe that it will deliver more than just a means of mass communication. They hope it will provide new opportunities to ordinary people, schools and businesses in communities like Kanatlarci, one of hundreds of remote villages spread across this mountainous nation.
Government officials believe affordable access to the Internet could help transform a moribund economy, but that aim is proving difficult to realize.
The cost of going online remains prohibitively expensive at about $1.30 an hour for a dial-up connection, a substantial sum in villages like Kanatlarci, where workers earn an average of $150 a month, mainly through agriculture. The cost of a broadband connection is beyond most people's dreams at $45 a month for the most basic service.
The source of the problem, service providers and technology-based businesses say, is that access to the Internet is dominated by the country's telecommunications company, Makedonski Telekomunikacii, known as Maktel. Maktel, formerly a state-owned monopoly, is now partly privatized and is 51 percent owned by Magyar Telekom, the Hungarian subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
Maktel users say that while they depend on the company, they resent its service, which they say stifles competition in order to retain its substantial profits.
It is a battle that can be seen throughout the developing world, and in some developed economies, too, where incumbent telecom operators, often state-owned, appear reluctant to allow competition from rival Internet service providers, most notably with the arrival of low-cost Internet phone calls.
In Macedonia's case, telecommunications analysts, including the main governmental regulator for the industry, say the government's desire to provide fair competition in the sector is also being undermined by the substantial dividends — worth more than $51 million in 2004 — it receives from Maktel.
While the possibilities offered by the Internet may still seem remote to most of Macedonia's population, a fast-growing technology industry based around the capital, Skopje, has already begun to show that jobs can come from outside agriculture or heavy industry, currently the main sectors of employment. One company, FX3X, which does computer animation, worked on the Hollywood film "The Aviator."
"Most people's dream is some form of job in an old-style Communist industry, or to be employed in a state bureaucracy where you might as well be retired as soon as you start work," said Milivoje Gjorgjevic, the manager of FX3X. "We are creating a clean industry. It's changing the mind-set."
Last year, the government introduced a law opening up Internet access to increased competition, meant to give people greater access to computer technology. However, Internet service providers still depend on Maktel for access to customers and say that this reliance gives Maktel too much power over pricing.
It was partly to avoid Maktel's costs that Macedonia's new wireless network was created. In a project called Macedonia Connects, the United States Agency for International Development paid $2.5 million to provide 461 schools, including the one here in Kanatlarci, with access to the Internet. The most affordable means was through a wireless network.
The creation of the wireless network for schools has shown that an alternative network can exist independently of Maktel and offer substantially lower costs.
"One of the benefits of the Macedonia Connects project is that pricing for broadband connectivity went from nearly 120 to 23 euros per month due to the creation of a separate networking infrastructure completely independent of Maktel," said Glenn Strachan, the director of Macedonia Connects. Consequently, Mr. Strachan said, Maktel had to cut its prices to compete.
Susanna Karolyi, Maktel's communications director, said that senior executives were unavailable for interviews and disputed suggestions that the company was abusing its dominant role in the marketplace. "We work based on international professional standards and act in line with the local rules of this country," Ms. Karolyi wrote in an e-mail message.
Newcomers in the industry can now compete more freely against Maktel but fear that the government does not regulate the business fairly.
The main government telecommunications regulator agrees. "We have a bottleneck," said Kosta Trpkovski, the director of the government regulatory authority. He said his agency did not have sufficient powers to prevent Maktel from trying to restrain fair competition.
Providers of telephone calls made over the Internet, usually at the fraction of the cost of a phone connection, complain that Maktel has disrupted their lines.
On.net, the local private company that worked with Usaid, the American development agency, to create the network for schools, tried to set up a low-priced computer phone service last summer. It found that few of those calls got through.
Until recently, Maktel's contracts with both business and private subscribers had forbidden the use of computer generated calls, a demand that violates the new telecommunications law. Maktel has, however, recently signed an agreement with the American company Nextel, which allows these kinds of calls.
Maktel says this latest deal shows it is open to increased competition. Still, Mr. Trpkovski, the government regulator, said his agency needed more teeth.
"For the opening of the market, it is not enough for this agency to work alone," he said. "It needs some consensus within the government."
Correction: April 6, 2006
Because of an editing error, an article on Monday about efforts by Macedonia to create nationwide wireless Internet access misstated the stake held by Magyar Telecom of Hungary in Maktel, Macedonia's main telecommunications company. It is 51 percent, not 53 percent. Because of an editing error, the article also misstated the monthly cost of a basic broadband connection in Macedonia. It is about $45, not $118.
Macedonia Dreams of One Nation, Wireless
By NICHOLAS WOOD
Correction Appended
KANATLARCI, Macedonia — Thirteen-year-old Nustreta Mimovic's hand trembled as she placed it over the computer mouse. Slowly she dragged the mouse and watched the screen, as her fellow students looked on.
"I'd love to know how to use it, but I don't have a computer," she explained, giving up the controls to another pupil.
Nustreta's unfamiliarity with technology is common in Macedonia, a poor former Yugoslav republic where it is estimated that as little as 4 percent of the population has regular access to computers and the Internet.
Within a year, if the government has its way, those figures could be turned around with the creation of a wireless Internet network that will be the world's largest, covering the entire nation.
Supporters of the network believe that it will deliver more than just a means of mass communication. They hope it will provide new opportunities to ordinary people, schools and businesses in communities like Kanatlarci, one of hundreds of remote villages spread across this mountainous nation.
Government officials believe affordable access to the Internet could help transform a moribund economy, but that aim is proving difficult to realize.
The cost of going online remains prohibitively expensive at about $1.30 an hour for a dial-up connection, a substantial sum in villages like Kanatlarci, where workers earn an average of $150 a month, mainly through agriculture. The cost of a broadband connection is beyond most people's dreams at $45 a month for the most basic service.
The source of the problem, service providers and technology-based businesses say, is that access to the Internet is dominated by the country's telecommunications company, Makedonski Telekomunikacii, known as Maktel. Maktel, formerly a state-owned monopoly, is now partly privatized and is 51 percent owned by Magyar Telekom, the Hungarian subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom.
Maktel users say that while they depend on the company, they resent its service, which they say stifles competition in order to retain its substantial profits.
It is a battle that can be seen throughout the developing world, and in some developed economies, too, where incumbent telecom operators, often state-owned, appear reluctant to allow competition from rival Internet service providers, most notably with the arrival of low-cost Internet phone calls.
In Macedonia's case, telecommunications analysts, including the main governmental regulator for the industry, say the government's desire to provide fair competition in the sector is also being undermined by the substantial dividends — worth more than $51 million in 2004 — it receives from Maktel.
While the possibilities offered by the Internet may still seem remote to most of Macedonia's population, a fast-growing technology industry based around the capital, Skopje, has already begun to show that jobs can come from outside agriculture or heavy industry, currently the main sectors of employment. One company, FX3X, which does computer animation, worked on the Hollywood film "The Aviator."
"Most people's dream is some form of job in an old-style Communist industry, or to be employed in a state bureaucracy where you might as well be retired as soon as you start work," said Milivoje Gjorgjevic, the manager of FX3X. "We are creating a clean industry. It's changing the mind-set."
Last year, the government introduced a law opening up Internet access to increased competition, meant to give people greater access to computer technology. However, Internet service providers still depend on Maktel for access to customers and say that this reliance gives Maktel too much power over pricing.
It was partly to avoid Maktel's costs that Macedonia's new wireless network was created. In a project called Macedonia Connects, the United States Agency for International Development paid $2.5 million to provide 461 schools, including the one here in Kanatlarci, with access to the Internet. The most affordable means was through a wireless network.
The creation of the wireless network for schools has shown that an alternative network can exist independently of Maktel and offer substantially lower costs.
"One of the benefits of the Macedonia Connects project is that pricing for broadband connectivity went from nearly 120 to 23 euros per month due to the creation of a separate networking infrastructure completely independent of Maktel," said Glenn Strachan, the director of Macedonia Connects. Consequently, Mr. Strachan said, Maktel had to cut its prices to compete.
Susanna Karolyi, Maktel's communications director, said that senior executives were unavailable for interviews and disputed suggestions that the company was abusing its dominant role in the marketplace. "We work based on international professional standards and act in line with the local rules of this country," Ms. Karolyi wrote in an e-mail message.
Newcomers in the industry can now compete more freely against Maktel but fear that the government does not regulate the business fairly.
The main government telecommunications regulator agrees. "We have a bottleneck," said Kosta Trpkovski, the director of the government regulatory authority. He said his agency did not have sufficient powers to prevent Maktel from trying to restrain fair competition.
Providers of telephone calls made over the Internet, usually at the fraction of the cost of a phone connection, complain that Maktel has disrupted their lines.
On.net, the local private company that worked with Usaid, the American development agency, to create the network for schools, tried to set up a low-priced computer phone service last summer. It found that few of those calls got through.
Until recently, Maktel's contracts with both business and private subscribers had forbidden the use of computer generated calls, a demand that violates the new telecommunications law. Maktel has, however, recently signed an agreement with the American company Nextel, which allows these kinds of calls.
Maktel says this latest deal shows it is open to increased competition. Still, Mr. Trpkovski, the government regulator, said his agency needed more teeth.
"For the opening of the market, it is not enough for this agency to work alone," he said. "It needs some consensus within the government."
Correction: April 6, 2006
Because of an editing error, an article on Monday about efforts by Macedonia to create nationwide wireless Internet access misstated the stake held by Magyar Telecom of Hungary in Maktel, Macedonia's main telecommunications company. It is 51 percent, not 53 percent. Because of an editing error, the article also misstated the monthly cost of a basic broadband connection in Macedonia. It is about $45, not $118.
Tackling a Telco, Connecting Rural Macedonia
Peter Orne - Wireless Government
03/13/2007
Tackling a Telco, Connecting Rural Macedonia
In June 2004, Glenn Strachan, former CIO and VP at the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, DC, began consulting on a US AID objective in Macedonia to connect 460 schools to the Internet. An e-Schools project had provided 5,400 computers to the schools, but Internet connectivity was an unmet challenge. Because of the predatory telecommunications environment in Macedonia — at one point, the incumbent telecom tried to undercut the project by announcing free broadband to all schools and then masquerading as USAID — Strachan stayed on for two years. W2i interviewed him at the Digital Cities Convention in Philadelphia (Dec. 5–6, 2006).
Watch a video overview of Macedonia Connects:
Glenn Strachan: What are the inhibiting factors to the growth of the Internet in Macedonia?
A: First is a legacy telecom owned by the government that was very predatory. It was a single-monopoly telecom. When I arrived in June 2004, Internet connectivity was on the order of 200 euro for a broadband account, and the country had only a 2% broadband penetration rate. Just for measurement sake, Macedonia is about the size of Vermont, but it’s 80 percent mountainous.
The provider was trying to run all the alternative ISPs out of business. There are only five. It was illegal to bring any international traffic in and out of the country. So, given that, USAID, asked for help in trying to deal with this issue, and that’s when I was brought in.
Q: What was the scope of this project?
A: It was basically a nationwide connectivity project, and I suggested that they create the schools as an anchor tenant of the network, since US AID was going to fund the growth in the schools. But they changed their perception of the network substantially, to providing connectivity to all the citizens of Macedonia, including utilities, hospitals, schools, and the consumer market, and selecting through an appropriate process an Internet provider capable of doing this growth.
None of this could be accomplished, however, until we changed the regulatory environment. So we worked initially on passing new legislation. In January 2005, the new telecom laws allowed alternative bandwidth solutions other than from the monopoly.
Q: The network would be countrywide, which meant tackling all those rural areas.
A: Roughly 52% of the population is rural. Skopje, the capital, had broadband connectivity. ISPs would build in the city, but outside Skopje, they don’t believe there’s any demand. So what we determined is that it had to be a holistic network. We actually built a rural network. Anyone can build a city network.
Q: What about existing cellular service and rural infrastructure assets?
A: There are presently only two cell providers. The one legacy of the former Yugoslav Republic is extreme paranoia of its neighbors to the south in Albania, so they set up a radio diffusion system, and they had hundreds of towers built throughout the former Republic. Access to towers was the easiest part of the whole picture — particularly in the mountains. People live in the valleys, they don’t live in the mountains, so you were able to broadcast down.
The cell footprint covers approximately 80% of the country, because the were only going to put equipment where they felt people would use cell coverage. When we finished, we were on 190 towers, with a footprint of 95% of the country. So there are points where you actually have Internet access and VoIP, and you don’t have cell.
Q: What was the project timeline and early impact?
A: Our vendor selection was announced on April 21, 2005. The network was completed by September 1, in time for the school year, so we’re talking several months with 300 people actively building out 190 towers. We ended up with a distribution of 545 sites throughout the country. The vendor itself has been expanding by almost 1,500 customers per month over the past six months. The prices have gone from 200 euro to as low as 10 euro per month. Unlimited home service is 17 euro. It’s a Motorola Canopy solution, where you get the customer premise equipment (CPE) in your home. They also have mesh networking in Skopje, and several other larger cities. It’s fairly ubiquitous wherever you go in country.
Q: What was US AID’s role and objective?
A: The agreement with US AID is that they didn’t want to buy any equipment. They just wanted service provisioning, so they allocated funds for that provisioning. Writing the RFP was complicated. In total we ended up spending $2.1 million for provisioning of services over a 28-month period. The goal was that the pricing at the end of the activity, which was Oct. 1, 2007, at the school would be 20–25 euro per month, which they could afford. Going into the activity, we assessed it at 120 euro, which nobody could afford.
Q: Could the schools continue to be an anchor tenant at those rates?
A: We knew the schools could not be wholly responsible for being an anchor tenant after our subsidy because they are the poorest element within Macedonia. That’s why we needed the network to be built out and have access to all the other constituencies — consumers, government, municipal government. Since then, our vendor has entered into an agreement with each municipality — 84 of them — to provide connectivity for e-Gov initiatives, which US AID is also providing. They are adding small and large business connectivity solutions, and it’s really become a very diverse network. The school system itself is 330,000 students. Within one year, Internet penetration went from about 2% to 4%, depending on how you measure it, to 14%. We suspect it will be over 20–25% by March 2007.
Q: Describe your experience with the incumbent telco.
A: Telcom didn’t cooperate in this process at all. When the project was announced, and we explained that we would be providing connectivity to 460 sites, the telecom, about a week later, announced that it would be providing free broadband connectivity to all schools in Macedonia. The problem is that DSL is an urban solution, and they had no plan for distribution to the rural sites. But basically, it was a cannon shot at us, trying to derail our activity. We could have stopped then, but we went forward.
During the rollout process, the telecom went out and identified themselves as us, installed DSL services to the urban schools, and signed them up for two and three year contracts. It was the ignorance on the part of the schools, not knowing that they weren’t dealing with us instead of the telecom. We had to get the prime minister to step in and communicate with the telco, which was 48 percent owned by the government, that this was an illegal practice and they should cease and desist.
The regulatory body was empaneled in May 2005, but they had no real power. It’s been a learning experience for them. Our project had to be built with no interconnectivity with the telco monopoly because we could have been shut down very easily. Now they’ve signed the first interconnect agreement between our vendor and the telco, and our selected vendor is now the second landline provider. So they actually have a telephone dialing sequence that will use VoIP to get into the homes of the people who subscribe to the service.
Q: How will the project be replicable?
A: The business model itself is usable anywhere. It’s the creation of competition and public-private partnership. It’s the only way it will work. We’re finding many of the countries we’re trying to go into have very restrictive environments, particularly in Montenegro. But I think the same business model will work in any country, and we’ve actually been called into Greece to provide guidance on how to provide rural connectivity. They’ve got the city taken care of, but they don’t know how to do the rural part, and Greece is 10 million people, whereas Macedonia was 2.1 million.
03/13/2007
Tackling a Telco, Connecting Rural Macedonia
In June 2004, Glenn Strachan, former CIO and VP at the Academy for Educational Development in Washington, DC, began consulting on a US AID objective in Macedonia to connect 460 schools to the Internet. An e-Schools project had provided 5,400 computers to the schools, but Internet connectivity was an unmet challenge. Because of the predatory telecommunications environment in Macedonia — at one point, the incumbent telecom tried to undercut the project by announcing free broadband to all schools and then masquerading as USAID — Strachan stayed on for two years. W2i interviewed him at the Digital Cities Convention in Philadelphia (Dec. 5–6, 2006).
Watch a video overview of Macedonia Connects:
Glenn Strachan: What are the inhibiting factors to the growth of the Internet in Macedonia?
A: First is a legacy telecom owned by the government that was very predatory. It was a single-monopoly telecom. When I arrived in June 2004, Internet connectivity was on the order of 200 euro for a broadband account, and the country had only a 2% broadband penetration rate. Just for measurement sake, Macedonia is about the size of Vermont, but it’s 80 percent mountainous.
The provider was trying to run all the alternative ISPs out of business. There are only five. It was illegal to bring any international traffic in and out of the country. So, given that, USAID, asked for help in trying to deal with this issue, and that’s when I was brought in.
Q: What was the scope of this project?
A: It was basically a nationwide connectivity project, and I suggested that they create the schools as an anchor tenant of the network, since US AID was going to fund the growth in the schools. But they changed their perception of the network substantially, to providing connectivity to all the citizens of Macedonia, including utilities, hospitals, schools, and the consumer market, and selecting through an appropriate process an Internet provider capable of doing this growth.
None of this could be accomplished, however, until we changed the regulatory environment. So we worked initially on passing new legislation. In January 2005, the new telecom laws allowed alternative bandwidth solutions other than from the monopoly.
Q: The network would be countrywide, which meant tackling all those rural areas.
A: Roughly 52% of the population is rural. Skopje, the capital, had broadband connectivity. ISPs would build in the city, but outside Skopje, they don’t believe there’s any demand. So what we determined is that it had to be a holistic network. We actually built a rural network. Anyone can build a city network.
Q: What about existing cellular service and rural infrastructure assets?
A: There are presently only two cell providers. The one legacy of the former Yugoslav Republic is extreme paranoia of its neighbors to the south in Albania, so they set up a radio diffusion system, and they had hundreds of towers built throughout the former Republic. Access to towers was the easiest part of the whole picture — particularly in the mountains. People live in the valleys, they don’t live in the mountains, so you were able to broadcast down.
The cell footprint covers approximately 80% of the country, because the were only going to put equipment where they felt people would use cell coverage. When we finished, we were on 190 towers, with a footprint of 95% of the country. So there are points where you actually have Internet access and VoIP, and you don’t have cell.
Q: What was the project timeline and early impact?
A: Our vendor selection was announced on April 21, 2005. The network was completed by September 1, in time for the school year, so we’re talking several months with 300 people actively building out 190 towers. We ended up with a distribution of 545 sites throughout the country. The vendor itself has been expanding by almost 1,500 customers per month over the past six months. The prices have gone from 200 euro to as low as 10 euro per month. Unlimited home service is 17 euro. It’s a Motorola Canopy solution, where you get the customer premise equipment (CPE) in your home. They also have mesh networking in Skopje, and several other larger cities. It’s fairly ubiquitous wherever you go in country.
Q: What was US AID’s role and objective?
A: The agreement with US AID is that they didn’t want to buy any equipment. They just wanted service provisioning, so they allocated funds for that provisioning. Writing the RFP was complicated. In total we ended up spending $2.1 million for provisioning of services over a 28-month period. The goal was that the pricing at the end of the activity, which was Oct. 1, 2007, at the school would be 20–25 euro per month, which they could afford. Going into the activity, we assessed it at 120 euro, which nobody could afford.
Q: Could the schools continue to be an anchor tenant at those rates?
A: We knew the schools could not be wholly responsible for being an anchor tenant after our subsidy because they are the poorest element within Macedonia. That’s why we needed the network to be built out and have access to all the other constituencies — consumers, government, municipal government. Since then, our vendor has entered into an agreement with each municipality — 84 of them — to provide connectivity for e-Gov initiatives, which US AID is also providing. They are adding small and large business connectivity solutions, and it’s really become a very diverse network. The school system itself is 330,000 students. Within one year, Internet penetration went from about 2% to 4%, depending on how you measure it, to 14%. We suspect it will be over 20–25% by March 2007.
Q: Describe your experience with the incumbent telco.
A: Telcom didn’t cooperate in this process at all. When the project was announced, and we explained that we would be providing connectivity to 460 sites, the telecom, about a week later, announced that it would be providing free broadband connectivity to all schools in Macedonia. The problem is that DSL is an urban solution, and they had no plan for distribution to the rural sites. But basically, it was a cannon shot at us, trying to derail our activity. We could have stopped then, but we went forward.
During the rollout process, the telecom went out and identified themselves as us, installed DSL services to the urban schools, and signed them up for two and three year contracts. It was the ignorance on the part of the schools, not knowing that they weren’t dealing with us instead of the telecom. We had to get the prime minister to step in and communicate with the telco, which was 48 percent owned by the government, that this was an illegal practice and they should cease and desist.
The regulatory body was empaneled in May 2005, but they had no real power. It’s been a learning experience for them. Our project had to be built with no interconnectivity with the telco monopoly because we could have been shut down very easily. Now they’ve signed the first interconnect agreement between our vendor and the telco, and our selected vendor is now the second landline provider. So they actually have a telephone dialing sequence that will use VoIP to get into the homes of the people who subscribe to the service.
Q: How will the project be replicable?
A: The business model itself is usable anywhere. It’s the creation of competition and public-private partnership. It’s the only way it will work. We’re finding many of the countries we’re trying to go into have very restrictive environments, particularly in Montenegro. But I think the same business model will work in any country, and we’ve actually been called into Greece to provide guidance on how to provide rural connectivity. They’ve got the city taken care of, but they don’t know how to do the rural part, and Greece is 10 million people, whereas Macedonia was 2.1 million.
U.S. Funds Nationwide Broadband Access in Poor Countries, So Why Not at Home?
http://w2i.com/resource_center/the_w2i_report__weekly_newsletter/news/p/id_163
For the past several years, I have been working on broadband-wireless projects in the developing world funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In Macedonia, we turned Internet connectivity for a schools project into a nationwide deployment of wireless services covering 95 percent of the country. While many goals were associated with this activity, first and foremost was its link to the country's economic development. The schools were the anchor tenant for the deployment, but eventually everyone from students, home consumers and business benefited from having access to a low-cost service. Like the quote from the movie — “if you build it, they will come” — we did just that, and they did. Internet use has gone from 4 percent to over 32 percent in three short years.
Back here in the United States, I can see more clearly how the developing world understands the relationship between providing broadband Internet services and economic development and growth. Although the US government invests in the provisioning of broadband wireless service in developing countries, it does not appear to understand the benefits of providing Internet access to its own rural constituents. Astonishingly, rural areas of the United States actually have lower Internet penetration rates than countries like Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia.
In Macedonia, most people migrate from their small villages and move to the capital city of Skopje to find employment. Yet the extension of Internet services outside the capital now means that people can start a business outside Skopje and communicate with new clients around the world, as has been the case for apparel companies and lamb farmers. While these efforts may seem tiny by US standards, they represent a major step forward in a developing economy.
And there are more examples:
* In Uganda, no one ever imagined there would be demand for any type of Internet services outside of the capital city of Kampala, but a USAID-funded wireless buildout has quickly resulted in widespread interest in Internet access there.
* In Romania, the World Bank is funding a buildout of Internet access points connected by wireless including the use of WiMAX solutions throughout the entire country.
* The Republic of Georgia is also embarking on the provisioning of broadband-wireless services for more than 2,700 schools and 90 educational resource centers.
Of course, there are still many developing countries where the incumbent telecommunication provider controls fixed and mobile telephony as well as the ISP marketplace. In Montenegro, an annual fee of 120,000 euros was required to receive a license to import and export data packets to the Internet. The incumbent received favorable dispensation from the government of Montenegro, not realizing how the sizable fee would stymie the growth and use of the Internet in Montenegro. The fee is now reduced to 1,000 euros, and the market is open.
In countries like Senegal, the Gambia and Gabon, regulations governing the telecommunications sector have not changed, which favors the incumbent and creates a lack of competition in the marketplace resulting in a low home use rate because of high pricing.
At the same time, it has been odd watching the market protectionism evident in Africa and Eastern Europe also apparent here, if only slightly more subtly. What I would love to see are the big players not only providing urban broadband services but also working together with local, state, and federal governments to provide these services to the most remote locations around the country.
Because the United States is already "developed," we tend to forget that there are actually economically disadvantaged pockets within most cities and most rural areas that would benefit tremendously from broadband Internet access. If the developing world understands that Internet access makes a difference in economic growth in these areas, why can't we?
Watch a W2i interview with Glenn Strachan, former project director for Macedonia Connects.
For the past several years, I have been working on broadband-wireless projects in the developing world funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). In Macedonia, we turned Internet connectivity for a schools project into a nationwide deployment of wireless services covering 95 percent of the country. While many goals were associated with this activity, first and foremost was its link to the country's economic development. The schools were the anchor tenant for the deployment, but eventually everyone from students, home consumers and business benefited from having access to a low-cost service. Like the quote from the movie — “if you build it, they will come” — we did just that, and they did. Internet use has gone from 4 percent to over 32 percent in three short years.
Back here in the United States, I can see more clearly how the developing world understands the relationship between providing broadband Internet services and economic development and growth. Although the US government invests in the provisioning of broadband wireless service in developing countries, it does not appear to understand the benefits of providing Internet access to its own rural constituents. Astonishingly, rural areas of the United States actually have lower Internet penetration rates than countries like Macedonia, Croatia, and Slovenia.
In Macedonia, most people migrate from their small villages and move to the capital city of Skopje to find employment. Yet the extension of Internet services outside the capital now means that people can start a business outside Skopje and communicate with new clients around the world, as has been the case for apparel companies and lamb farmers. While these efforts may seem tiny by US standards, they represent a major step forward in a developing economy.
And there are more examples:
* In Uganda, no one ever imagined there would be demand for any type of Internet services outside of the capital city of Kampala, but a USAID-funded wireless buildout has quickly resulted in widespread interest in Internet access there.
* In Romania, the World Bank is funding a buildout of Internet access points connected by wireless including the use of WiMAX solutions throughout the entire country.
* The Republic of Georgia is also embarking on the provisioning of broadband-wireless services for more than 2,700 schools and 90 educational resource centers.
Of course, there are still many developing countries where the incumbent telecommunication provider controls fixed and mobile telephony as well as the ISP marketplace. In Montenegro, an annual fee of 120,000 euros was required to receive a license to import and export data packets to the Internet. The incumbent received favorable dispensation from the government of Montenegro, not realizing how the sizable fee would stymie the growth and use of the Internet in Montenegro. The fee is now reduced to 1,000 euros, and the market is open.
In countries like Senegal, the Gambia and Gabon, regulations governing the telecommunications sector have not changed, which favors the incumbent and creates a lack of competition in the marketplace resulting in a low home use rate because of high pricing.
At the same time, it has been odd watching the market protectionism evident in Africa and Eastern Europe also apparent here, if only slightly more subtly. What I would love to see are the big players not only providing urban broadband services but also working together with local, state, and federal governments to provide these services to the most remote locations around the country.
Because the United States is already "developed," we tend to forget that there are actually economically disadvantaged pockets within most cities and most rural areas that would benefit tremendously from broadband Internet access. If the developing world understands that Internet access makes a difference in economic growth in these areas, why can't we?
Watch a W2i interview with Glenn Strachan, former project director for Macedonia Connects.
America Has the Wrong View on Municipal Wi-Fi by Glenn Strachan
http://dsc.discovery.com/technology/my-take/wireless-internet-municipal.html
In the United States, ranked about 20th in broadband connectivity, widespread wireless Internet only goes so far.
The scoop: Earthlink recently announced it was discontinuing operation of its municipal wireless service in Philadelphia. Is city-wide Wi-Fi in the United States a pipe dream? Glenn Strachan, a consultant and activist for wireless connectivity solutions in other countries, gives us his take.
Earthlink's recent decision to close America's first major, all-wireless city, and perhaps all its installations, seem to be the death blow to the municipal wireless movement.
But ubiquitous wireless in the United States has been feebly stumbling along for some time now. Once the leader in broadband deployments, the country has fallen to either 19th or 24th place, according to various statistics, and has been surpassed by Estonia and South Korea.
In my opinion, America has the wrong view of broadband. It doesn't see the connection between broadband deployment and national economic gains. It doesn't consider, the way other countries do, that the people in rural communities, not just large cities, can leverage access to the Internet into business opportunities that generate income.
Take Romania. It barely had any type of affordable city or rural connectivity five years ago. But today, it has extensive connectivity that has helped facilitate the growth of the software development marketplace. There are now over 20,000 Romanian programmers who write computer code for companies all over the world.
Let's look at Estonia. When it regained independence in 1991, the prime minister realized that jobs based on information and communications technology would help move the country into a first-world status.
Since that decision, and with the full support of government, broadband wireless services are available in 66 percent of Estonia; people can ride a bus from Tallinn to St. Petersburg, Russia, and access the Internet through Wi-Fi. Wireless kiosks are located throughout the country, allowing people to purchase tickets for bus rides, airlines, movies and plays plus a host of other services.
Estonia is the home of Skype and is a net importer of computer technologists that have fueled the economic growth of the country.
The United States Agency for International Development supported Macedonia to provide Internet access to all schools throughout the country. The project, called Macedonia Connects, accomplished this task by anchoring its broadband-based Internet services in secondary schools and created enough demand to ultimately reduce the costs of Internet access to a level that most people could afford.
Consequently, Internet penetration rose from 4 percent to 34 percent in three years, and people throughout the country are generating income through small- and medium-sized business activities via the Internet.
What lessons can America learn from these countries and others?
First, there must be a champion in the federal government for the deployment of broadband covering not only urban settings, but also the most remote locations. My friends at the FCC will say that the Universal Service Fund is supposed to do this, but the fund is going into decline as consumers bypass traditional phone service providers for broadband phone. And although the fund provides money to schools and libraries, it doesn't support rural consumers.
Broadband access is the new digital divide. Estonians, Slovenians and Macedonians have better access to the Internet than people living five miles outside of Northampton, Mass. Those who do not have access to broadband will never fully benefit from the new Web.
While urban areas and suburbia are well served, large swaths of the USA still remain unserved despite the large dependence on dial-up Internet access. The United States must realize that broadband creates economic growth; it is a vital tool that all must be able to access.
Glenn Strachan has 30 years of computer and networking expertise. Presently, he is overseeing a nationwide broadband wireless project in the Republic of Montenegro and has worked on other wireless connectivity solutions in other countries, including Macedonia, Romania and Uganda. The views expressed are the author's alone and do not represent the official position of the Discovery Channel.
In the United States, ranked about 20th in broadband connectivity, widespread wireless Internet only goes so far.
The scoop: Earthlink recently announced it was discontinuing operation of its municipal wireless service in Philadelphia. Is city-wide Wi-Fi in the United States a pipe dream? Glenn Strachan, a consultant and activist for wireless connectivity solutions in other countries, gives us his take.
Earthlink's recent decision to close America's first major, all-wireless city, and perhaps all its installations, seem to be the death blow to the municipal wireless movement.
But ubiquitous wireless in the United States has been feebly stumbling along for some time now. Once the leader in broadband deployments, the country has fallen to either 19th or 24th place, according to various statistics, and has been surpassed by Estonia and South Korea.
In my opinion, America has the wrong view of broadband. It doesn't see the connection between broadband deployment and national economic gains. It doesn't consider, the way other countries do, that the people in rural communities, not just large cities, can leverage access to the Internet into business opportunities that generate income.
Take Romania. It barely had any type of affordable city or rural connectivity five years ago. But today, it has extensive connectivity that has helped facilitate the growth of the software development marketplace. There are now over 20,000 Romanian programmers who write computer code for companies all over the world.
Let's look at Estonia. When it regained independence in 1991, the prime minister realized that jobs based on information and communications technology would help move the country into a first-world status.
Since that decision, and with the full support of government, broadband wireless services are available in 66 percent of Estonia; people can ride a bus from Tallinn to St. Petersburg, Russia, and access the Internet through Wi-Fi. Wireless kiosks are located throughout the country, allowing people to purchase tickets for bus rides, airlines, movies and plays plus a host of other services.
Estonia is the home of Skype and is a net importer of computer technologists that have fueled the economic growth of the country.
The United States Agency for International Development supported Macedonia to provide Internet access to all schools throughout the country. The project, called Macedonia Connects, accomplished this task by anchoring its broadband-based Internet services in secondary schools and created enough demand to ultimately reduce the costs of Internet access to a level that most people could afford.
Consequently, Internet penetration rose from 4 percent to 34 percent in three years, and people throughout the country are generating income through small- and medium-sized business activities via the Internet.
What lessons can America learn from these countries and others?
First, there must be a champion in the federal government for the deployment of broadband covering not only urban settings, but also the most remote locations. My friends at the FCC will say that the Universal Service Fund is supposed to do this, but the fund is going into decline as consumers bypass traditional phone service providers for broadband phone. And although the fund provides money to schools and libraries, it doesn't support rural consumers.
Broadband access is the new digital divide. Estonians, Slovenians and Macedonians have better access to the Internet than people living five miles outside of Northampton, Mass. Those who do not have access to broadband will never fully benefit from the new Web.
While urban areas and suburbia are well served, large swaths of the USA still remain unserved despite the large dependence on dial-up Internet access. The United States must realize that broadband creates economic growth; it is a vital tool that all must be able to access.
Glenn Strachan has 30 years of computer and networking expertise. Presently, he is overseeing a nationwide broadband wireless project in the Republic of Montenegro and has worked on other wireless connectivity solutions in other countries, including Macedonia, Romania and Uganda. The views expressed are the author's alone and do not represent the official position of the Discovery Channel.
Presentation "Beyond the Last Mile: How ICT is Transforming the World"
Experts Discuss How Information and Communications Technology is Transforming the World at Georgetown University
Information and communications technology (ICT) is transforming education, empowering communities, and promoting development around the world. By increasing the availability of information and knowledge in the most remote corners of the globe, ICT is helping to transform the development prospects of farmers, fishermen, home businesses, commercial startups, community service agencies and other organizations which have been underserved by traditional development efforts. Today’s development seeks to combine cutting-edge technology with the creative use of existing technologies so that citizens have the tools they need to take advantage of opportunities and solve critical social and economic problems.
Join us as we explore how ICT companies are going from the first mile to the last mile and beyond to transform the world.
WHO:
Panelists include:
• Catherine Stewart, Manager of Integrated Marketing Communications, Cisco Systems
• Glenn Strachan, Director for Special Initiatives, TechSoup Global
• Matthew Taylor, World Ahead Solutions Architect, Intel Corporation
• Wayan Vota, Senior Director of Partnerships, Inveneo
WHAT:
Beyond the Last Mile: How ICT is Transforming the World
Panel members will explore how information and communications technology (ICT) companies are transforming education, empowering communities, and promoting development around the world.
WHEN:
Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.
Information and communications technology (ICT) is transforming education, empowering communities, and promoting development around the world. By increasing the availability of information and knowledge in the most remote corners of the globe, ICT is helping to transform the development prospects of farmers, fishermen, home businesses, commercial startups, community service agencies and other organizations which have been underserved by traditional development efforts. Today’s development seeks to combine cutting-edge technology with the creative use of existing technologies so that citizens have the tools they need to take advantage of opportunities and solve critical social and economic problems.
Join us as we explore how ICT companies are going from the first mile to the last mile and beyond to transform the world.
WHO:
Panelists include:
• Catherine Stewart, Manager of Integrated Marketing Communications, Cisco Systems
• Glenn Strachan, Director for Special Initiatives, TechSoup Global
• Matthew Taylor, World Ahead Solutions Architect, Intel Corporation
• Wayan Vota, Senior Director of Partnerships, Inveneo
WHAT:
Beyond the Last Mile: How ICT is Transforming the World
Panel members will explore how information and communications technology (ICT) companies are transforming education, empowering communities, and promoting development around the world.
WHEN:
Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.
Speaking Engagements and Presentations
“Muniwireless 101 – Business Models.” Presented at Muniwireless Conference, March 4-8, 2007, Dallas, Texas.
“Technology Roadmap: Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Proprietary & Cellular Networks.” February 11-14, 2007, Tempe Arizona.
“Digital Inclusion Roundtable – Macedonia.” February 11-14, 2007, Tempe, Arizona.
“Technology Roadmap: Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Proprietary & Cellular Networks.” December 6, 2006, Philadelphia, PA.
“Macedonia Connects: A Template for Nation-Wide Wireless Broadband Networks in Developing Nations”. Broadband World Forum Europe, October 11, 2006, Paris, France.
“Macedonia Connects: A Template for Nation-Wide Wireless Broadband Networks in Developing Nations”. Southeast European Regulators Conference, September 2006, Budva, Montenegro.
“Macedonia Connects: A Template for Nation-Wide Wireless Broadband Networks in Developing Nations”. Digital Cities Conference, May 17, 2006, Paris, France.
“Case study: Broadband Wireless Internet Access in Macedonia.” The Policy of Broadband Wireless Internet Access, April 24, 2006
“Technology Roadmap: Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Proprietary & Cellular Networks.” February 11-14, 2007, Tempe Arizona.
“Digital Inclusion Roundtable – Macedonia.” February 11-14, 2007, Tempe, Arizona.
“Technology Roadmap: Wi-Fi, WiMAX, Proprietary & Cellular Networks.” December 6, 2006, Philadelphia, PA.
“Macedonia Connects: A Template for Nation-Wide Wireless Broadband Networks in Developing Nations”. Broadband World Forum Europe, October 11, 2006, Paris, France.
“Macedonia Connects: A Template for Nation-Wide Wireless Broadband Networks in Developing Nations”. Southeast European Regulators Conference, September 2006, Budva, Montenegro.
“Macedonia Connects: A Template for Nation-Wide Wireless Broadband Networks in Developing Nations”. Digital Cities Conference, May 17, 2006, Paris, France.
“Case study: Broadband Wireless Internet Access in Macedonia.” The Policy of Broadband Wireless Internet Access, April 24, 2006
Short Biography for Glenn Strachan
Mr. Glenn Strachan is presently working for TechSoup Global where he is a Director for Special Initiatives which includes Research and Development activities. Before TechSoup Global, Mr. Strachan directed a nation-wide broadband wireless project in the Republic of Montenegro as well as providing Muniwireless consulting services. Prior to this Mr. Strachan served as Managing Director overseeing the Macedonia Connects Project (www.mkconnects.org)which provided nationwide broadband wireless connectivity using 460 primary and secondary schools as well as select universities and NGOs as the anchor tenant. This work has been highlighted in such publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Christian Science Monitor and the BBC show "Click Online." Prior to this project, Mr. Strachan worked on wireless connectivity solutions in Romania and Uganda. The work in Romania demonstrated various connectivity solutions which could provide Internet connectivity to the most remote and impoverished regions in eastern Romania. The work in Uganda established the first wireless networking solution in the country to provide Internet connectivity to nine primary teacher colleges. For 10 of his 13 years of service at the Academy for Educational Development (AED) Mr. Strachan served as Chief Information Officer and Vice President. Prior to AED, Mr. Strachan worked for Realcom/WorldCom where he designed local, municipal and wide area networks in the United States. Mr. Strachan brings with him 30 years of computer and networking expertise. Mr. Strachan holds a Masters degree from Humboldt State University and Bachelor degrees from San Jose State University.
CV for Glenn R. Strachan
GLENN R. STRACHAN - glenn@glennstrachan.com
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Connecting the unconnected has been the focus of this seasoned international program executive’s work for the country of Macedonia, Montenegro, regions in Romania and Primary Teacher Colleges in Uganda. Accomplished long-term sustainable solutions for nationwide wireless Internet access in Macedonia by leading the collaborative efforts of numerous stakeholders making Macedonia the first all broadband wireless country in the world. This successful, results-oriented technology strategist unites public/non-governmental sector sensitivities to corporate decision-making and program management.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Senior ICT Advisor, Washington, DC November 2007-Present
Consulting services specializing in Information Communication Technologies Planning, Design, and Implementation – Globally.
Clients: CHF International, EDC, Computer Frontiers International, Academy for Educational Development, TechSoup Global, SRA
MUNIWIRELESS TECHNICAL CONSULTANT, Washington, DC April 2007-Present
Consulting services specializing in Municipal Wireless Planning, Design, and Implementation – Globally.
Technical Advisor Albania
• Serve as a technical advisor to the USAID Mission establishing the implementation strategy for municipal wireless services throughout Albania.
• Capitalize on new government initiative being led by the office of the Prime Minister to provide broadband services to all schools, municipal government offices, health centers and rural populations.
Technical Advisor Montenegro
• Serve as a technical advisor to the USAID Mission establishing the implementation strategy for municipal wireless services throughout Montenegro.
• Capitalize on new laws opening formerly closed telecom markets and now allowing internet access which is associated with future economic growth for the region.
Technical Advisor Senegal
• Serve as technical advisor to the USAID Mission desire to provide connectivity to schools throughout Senegal.
• Serve as technical advisor to AED for the selection of low powered PC units for schools on and off the power grid.
Technical Advisor Republic of Georgia
• Serve as technical advisor to the USAID Mission desire to provide connectivity to schools throughout the Republic of Georgia.
ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Chief Operating Officer, Project Director – Macedonia Connects, Skopje, Macedonia, Senior Technical Advisor – Montenegro 2004-2007
Oversaw the $4 million United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded initiative including: selection of technology partners, hiring and managing staff of 7, and managing the infrastructure implementation for the delivery of wireless internet access services throughout Macedonia. (www.mkconnects.org)
• Met project milestone for all 460 schools in Macedonia to have computer labs and wireless broadband Internet access allowing all children, regardless of ethnic background, to gain knowledge and learn with 21st century technology.
• Responsible for the development of an E-Literacy marketing campaigns delivered via Internet website, print, radio, and TV to the country’s 2.1 million population, both urban and rural.
• Led Phase I assessment and feasibility study for converting Montenegro into a fully wireless country. Assessed and addressed issues and hurdles including telecom environment infrastructure, internet services and RFP process.
ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Washington, DC 2003-2007
Senior IT and Wireless Broadband Technical Advisor
Responsible for the IT projects for the Academy for Educational Development (AED) field offices overseas.
• Designed, configured, and installed 4 telecentres providing telephony and Internet services in the Moldova region of Romania using wireless technology for the USAID-funded Romania Information Technology Initiative (RITI)-Access Project based in Bucharest, Romania.
• Created the first wireless network in Uganda connecting 9 primary teacher colleges for LEARNLINK UGANDA with a $2 million from USAID.
AED Technical Consulting Projects:
o USAID/Jamaica:
Led $2 million project to redesign the National Health Information System for the Jamaican Ministry of Health as part of the project designed and established an SQL-based information system into 13 hospitals and 10 major health centers nationwide.
Designed and implemented information system for the Jamaican National Family Planning Board.
o Nicaragua: Established a WAN for the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education.
o Designed and installed LAN systems in The Dominican Republic, Egypt, Guatemala, Panama, Russia, and the Newly Independent States.
Vice President & Chief Information Officer 1994-2003
Established IT department with 2 staff supporting 280 users growing to 20 staff supporting over 1,200 employees worldwide. Annual budget $2 million.
• Designed a state-of-the-art “24/7” server room operation to meet the needs of this multinational non-profit organization operating in 54 countries.
• Designed AED portal website providing complete access to all organizational applications, forms and information centers, which created a seamless interface for staff worldwide.
Key Accomplishments at AED:
Web Services and Technology Training Group – established Internet Services Provider (ISP) for commercial and non-profit clientele generating income for AED annually.
• Developed capacity of this group to provide complete array of Internet support services including web site design and implementation; web site hosting; Internet dial-up services; e-commerce solutions and Internet consulting services.
• Supported 75+ clients worldwide including USAID, the World Bank, Department of Education, Health and Human Services, and various non-profit agencies.
• Managed a 15-seat training facility and coordinated a comprehensive year round training schedule.
Technical Support Services – established a HELPDESK support organization for 1,200+ end users located in 54 countries.
• Services included Dial-up support, Internet/Intranet based support, and an on-line knowledge base access allowing end-users the ability to resolve simple computer related issues.
• Implemented an enhanced call tracking system for the HELPDESK to manage end user needs with greater precision.
Networking Operations Group –served as the second tier support group after the technical support service group.
• Configured, installed and managed all file servers in the file server room; Novell, Windows 2K, Sun Solaris and Linux based server - all connected to a Storage Area Network running on a gigabit backplane.
Financial Management and Purchasing – responsible the IT budget and the centralized purchasing of all computer equipment for AED, $2 million annually.
WORLDCOM (formerly REALCOM OFFICE COMMUNICATIONS), Chantilly, VA 1989-1994
Management of Information Systems Director
Responsible for computer operations at $26 million Telecommunications Company and its 26 U.S. based offices.
• Designed and implemented approximately $8 million worth of system upgrades with a staff of five.
• Designed and instituted a new computer operation and data processing center located in Chantilly, Virginia.
• Created national network backbone using Frame-Relay Network to tie in all remote offices.
• Oversaw the conversion of 320+ users to a Window-based computer environment.
• Established TCP/IP systems to provide access to Unix-based accounting and management systems.
GRENADA MINISTRY OF HEALTH, St. Georges, Grenada, West Indies 1986-1989
Health Information Specialist
Served on the 8-member team sent to Grenada after the American intervention to help re-establish a heath care management system.
• Individually responsible for establishing a computer information system which both the Ministries of Health and Finance used to improve inventory management for medical supplies at the two major hospitals and outlying medical districts. Created and presented management reports to the Cabinet and senior level government officials.
• Created a centralized information system at the Ministry of Health. Established a computer information center to design data collection forms for the Ministry and track the information retrieved including health statistics data, inventory data, and morbidity figures.
AMERICAN MICROSYSTEMS, INC., Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China 1983-1985
Source Agent
Secured computer components for this Santa Clara, California-based original equipment manufacturer. Products were sold as the first wave of PC clones.
• Located all elements required to build a complete PC-compatible computer.
• Oversaw the shipment by container of all system components to the United States for final assembly.
SIGNIFICANT CONSULTING ASSIGNMENTS
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF (LWR), Baltimore, MD 2003-2004
Serving as Chief Information Officer/Senior Leadership Team Advisor
Analyzed the organization’s worldwide IT needs for the strategic planning process. Provided IT oversight.
• Conducted an exhaustive investigation of the current IT systems and potential including interviews with individual in primary service areas. Wrote a comprehensive 160-page report recommending in detail the five significant changes and enhancements to bring considerable efficiency to LWR.
• The Board of Directors incorporated all five elements into the strategic plan and LWR has since acted on each item.
LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION & RELOCATION SERVICES (LIRS), Baltimore, MD 2003-2004
Serving as Chief Information Officer
• Contracted to conduct a technology needs analysis as part of the LIRS strategic plan.
• Created, conceptualized, and initially planned the development of a new proprietary software program to manage the resettlement of refugees worldwide.
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY, Washington, DC 2003-2008
Serving as Chief Information Officer
• Manage the overall IT needs of the organization, hire, train, and oversee technical staff as needed.
NETWORK DESIGN GROUP, Washington, DC 1981-Present
Computer Consulting Firm providing computer-based services to primarily small, non-profit businesses. Formally established in 1991.
Principal
• Create turnkey technology solutions and services for organizations in fields other than technology.
Selected Client List:
DC Area: International Social Service, US Green Buildings Council, Economic and Social Research Institute, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Recreation Coalition, Chartered Health Plan, Stanley H. Kaplan Test Preparation Centers, Preferred Communications and Lists, Catholic Diocese of Northern Virginia, Federal Aviation Administration.
Other: Turner Communications, Fort Lee, NJ, Arcata Open Door Clinic - Huntington Beach Community Clinic, Huntington Beach, Planned Parenthood of Eureka, Planned Parenthood of Santa Ana, CA.
EDUCATION
M.A., HUMBOLDT STATE UNVERSITY, Arcata, CA 1983
Social Sciences and Women’s Studies
B.A., SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY, New College, San Jose, CA 1981
Psychology and Sociology
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Connecting the unconnected has been the focus of this seasoned international program executive’s work for the country of Macedonia, Montenegro, regions in Romania and Primary Teacher Colleges in Uganda. Accomplished long-term sustainable solutions for nationwide wireless Internet access in Macedonia by leading the collaborative efforts of numerous stakeholders making Macedonia the first all broadband wireless country in the world. This successful, results-oriented technology strategist unites public/non-governmental sector sensitivities to corporate decision-making and program management.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Senior ICT Advisor, Washington, DC November 2007-Present
Consulting services specializing in Information Communication Technologies Planning, Design, and Implementation – Globally.
Clients: CHF International, EDC, Computer Frontiers International, Academy for Educational Development, TechSoup Global, SRA
MUNIWIRELESS TECHNICAL CONSULTANT, Washington, DC April 2007-Present
Consulting services specializing in Municipal Wireless Planning, Design, and Implementation – Globally.
Technical Advisor Albania
• Serve as a technical advisor to the USAID Mission establishing the implementation strategy for municipal wireless services throughout Albania.
• Capitalize on new government initiative being led by the office of the Prime Minister to provide broadband services to all schools, municipal government offices, health centers and rural populations.
Technical Advisor Montenegro
• Serve as a technical advisor to the USAID Mission establishing the implementation strategy for municipal wireless services throughout Montenegro.
• Capitalize on new laws opening formerly closed telecom markets and now allowing internet access which is associated with future economic growth for the region.
Technical Advisor Senegal
• Serve as technical advisor to the USAID Mission desire to provide connectivity to schools throughout Senegal.
• Serve as technical advisor to AED for the selection of low powered PC units for schools on and off the power grid.
Technical Advisor Republic of Georgia
• Serve as technical advisor to the USAID Mission desire to provide connectivity to schools throughout the Republic of Georgia.
ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Chief Operating Officer, Project Director – Macedonia Connects, Skopje, Macedonia, Senior Technical Advisor – Montenegro 2004-2007
Oversaw the $4 million United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded initiative including: selection of technology partners, hiring and managing staff of 7, and managing the infrastructure implementation for the delivery of wireless internet access services throughout Macedonia. (www.mkconnects.org)
• Met project milestone for all 460 schools in Macedonia to have computer labs and wireless broadband Internet access allowing all children, regardless of ethnic background, to gain knowledge and learn with 21st century technology.
• Responsible for the development of an E-Literacy marketing campaigns delivered via Internet website, print, radio, and TV to the country’s 2.1 million population, both urban and rural.
• Led Phase I assessment and feasibility study for converting Montenegro into a fully wireless country. Assessed and addressed issues and hurdles including telecom environment infrastructure, internet services and RFP process.
ACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, Washington, DC 2003-2007
Senior IT and Wireless Broadband Technical Advisor
Responsible for the IT projects for the Academy for Educational Development (AED) field offices overseas.
• Designed, configured, and installed 4 telecentres providing telephony and Internet services in the Moldova region of Romania using wireless technology for the USAID-funded Romania Information Technology Initiative (RITI)-Access Project based in Bucharest, Romania.
• Created the first wireless network in Uganda connecting 9 primary teacher colleges for LEARNLINK UGANDA with a $2 million from USAID.
AED Technical Consulting Projects:
o USAID/Jamaica:
Led $2 million project to redesign the National Health Information System for the Jamaican Ministry of Health as part of the project designed and established an SQL-based information system into 13 hospitals and 10 major health centers nationwide.
Designed and implemented information system for the Jamaican National Family Planning Board.
o Nicaragua: Established a WAN for the Nicaraguan Ministry of Education.
o Designed and installed LAN systems in The Dominican Republic, Egypt, Guatemala, Panama, Russia, and the Newly Independent States.
Vice President & Chief Information Officer 1994-2003
Established IT department with 2 staff supporting 280 users growing to 20 staff supporting over 1,200 employees worldwide. Annual budget $2 million.
• Designed a state-of-the-art “24/7” server room operation to meet the needs of this multinational non-profit organization operating in 54 countries.
• Designed AED portal website providing complete access to all organizational applications, forms and information centers, which created a seamless interface for staff worldwide.
Key Accomplishments at AED:
Web Services and Technology Training Group – established Internet Services Provider (ISP) for commercial and non-profit clientele generating income for AED annually.
• Developed capacity of this group to provide complete array of Internet support services including web site design and implementation; web site hosting; Internet dial-up services; e-commerce solutions and Internet consulting services.
• Supported 75+ clients worldwide including USAID, the World Bank, Department of Education, Health and Human Services, and various non-profit agencies.
• Managed a 15-seat training facility and coordinated a comprehensive year round training schedule.
Technical Support Services – established a HELPDESK support organization for 1,200+ end users located in 54 countries.
• Services included Dial-up support, Internet/Intranet based support, and an on-line knowledge base access allowing end-users the ability to resolve simple computer related issues.
• Implemented an enhanced call tracking system for the HELPDESK to manage end user needs with greater precision.
Networking Operations Group –served as the second tier support group after the technical support service group.
• Configured, installed and managed all file servers in the file server room; Novell, Windows 2K, Sun Solaris and Linux based server - all connected to a Storage Area Network running on a gigabit backplane.
Financial Management and Purchasing – responsible the IT budget and the centralized purchasing of all computer equipment for AED, $2 million annually.
WORLDCOM (formerly REALCOM OFFICE COMMUNICATIONS), Chantilly, VA 1989-1994
Management of Information Systems Director
Responsible for computer operations at $26 million Telecommunications Company and its 26 U.S. based offices.
• Designed and implemented approximately $8 million worth of system upgrades with a staff of five.
• Designed and instituted a new computer operation and data processing center located in Chantilly, Virginia.
• Created national network backbone using Frame-Relay Network to tie in all remote offices.
• Oversaw the conversion of 320+ users to a Window-based computer environment.
• Established TCP/IP systems to provide access to Unix-based accounting and management systems.
GRENADA MINISTRY OF HEALTH, St. Georges, Grenada, West Indies 1986-1989
Health Information Specialist
Served on the 8-member team sent to Grenada after the American intervention to help re-establish a heath care management system.
• Individually responsible for establishing a computer information system which both the Ministries of Health and Finance used to improve inventory management for medical supplies at the two major hospitals and outlying medical districts. Created and presented management reports to the Cabinet and senior level government officials.
• Created a centralized information system at the Ministry of Health. Established a computer information center to design data collection forms for the Ministry and track the information retrieved including health statistics data, inventory data, and morbidity figures.
AMERICAN MICROSYSTEMS, INC., Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China 1983-1985
Source Agent
Secured computer components for this Santa Clara, California-based original equipment manufacturer. Products were sold as the first wave of PC clones.
• Located all elements required to build a complete PC-compatible computer.
• Oversaw the shipment by container of all system components to the United States for final assembly.
SIGNIFICANT CONSULTING ASSIGNMENTS
LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF (LWR), Baltimore, MD 2003-2004
Serving as Chief Information Officer/Senior Leadership Team Advisor
Analyzed the organization’s worldwide IT needs for the strategic planning process. Provided IT oversight.
• Conducted an exhaustive investigation of the current IT systems and potential including interviews with individual in primary service areas. Wrote a comprehensive 160-page report recommending in detail the five significant changes and enhancements to bring considerable efficiency to LWR.
• The Board of Directors incorporated all five elements into the strategic plan and LWR has since acted on each item.
LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION & RELOCATION SERVICES (LIRS), Baltimore, MD 2003-2004
Serving as Chief Information Officer
• Contracted to conduct a technology needs analysis as part of the LIRS strategic plan.
• Created, conceptualized, and initially planned the development of a new proprietary software program to manage the resettlement of refugees worldwide.
PEOPLE FOR THE AMERICAN WAY, Washington, DC 2003-2008
Serving as Chief Information Officer
• Manage the overall IT needs of the organization, hire, train, and oversee technical staff as needed.
NETWORK DESIGN GROUP, Washington, DC 1981-Present
Computer Consulting Firm providing computer-based services to primarily small, non-profit businesses. Formally established in 1991.
Principal
• Create turnkey technology solutions and services for organizations in fields other than technology.
Selected Client List:
DC Area: International Social Service, US Green Buildings Council, Economic and Social Research Institute, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Recreation Coalition, Chartered Health Plan, Stanley H. Kaplan Test Preparation Centers, Preferred Communications and Lists, Catholic Diocese of Northern Virginia, Federal Aviation Administration.
Other: Turner Communications, Fort Lee, NJ, Arcata Open Door Clinic - Huntington Beach Community Clinic, Huntington Beach, Planned Parenthood of Eureka, Planned Parenthood of Santa Ana, CA.
EDUCATION
M.A., HUMBOLDT STATE UNVERSITY, Arcata, CA 1983
Social Sciences and Women’s Studies
B.A., SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY, New College, San Jose, CA 1981
Psychology and Sociology
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