Internet in Serbia
Encyclopedia
Introduction of Internet
Linking of SFR Yugoslavia into global electronic networks began at the end of the 1980s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. The European Academic Research Network (EARN) was functioning in Europe at that time. In 1988 the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, proposed that Yugoslav universities join the EARN. The University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
became a node of the EARN in 1989, when the first international connection of the academic network between Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
and Linz
Linz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
became active. The capacity of this link initially was 4.800 bit/s and it was later doubled to 9.600 bit/s.
The project of developing the academic network for SFRY functioned within the project of developing the system of scientific-technological information (SNTIJ). Besides the University of Maribor
University of Maribor
The University of Maribor is the second university in Slovenia, established in 1975. It currently has 17 faculties.-History:The university's roots reach back to 1859, when a theological seminary was established with the encouragement of Maribor bishop and patriot Anton Martin Slomšek...
, the project was also managed by the institute Jožef Štefan from Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, so these institutions took over the responsibility of organising the first .yu
.yu
.yu was the Internet country code top-level domain that was assigned to Yugoslavia and was mainly used by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its successor Serbia and Montenegro between 1994 and 2010....
domain register between 1990 and 1991.
UN Sanctions
The development of the Internet in Serbia faced with very difficult circumstances, during the breakup of the former socialist state (SFRY). In the middle of 1992 the UN Security Council imposed all-inclusive sanctions against the newly formed Yugoslav federation of Serbia and MontenegroFry
-Food and cooking:* Frying, the act of cooking food in oil or fat** Pan frying, frying food in a flat pan** Stir frying, frying food in a wok and stirring it while it cooks* Full breakfast, a traditional cooked meal, also called a fry-up or Ulster fry...
.
The sanctions did not exclude telecommunications and all such government-funded projects came under the sanctions. It was not long before the only Yugoslav Internet link, connecting the Yugoslav academic network to EARN, was shut down. The sanctions prevented foreign companies from doing any kind of business with Yugoslav firms, so it was impossible to establish any commercial Internet links with Yugoslavia.
Before November 1995 the only way to access the Internet from Yugoslavia was by using an extremely expensive and slow X.25
X.25
X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet switched wide area network communication. An X.25 WAN consists of packet-switching exchange nodes as the networking hardware, and leased lines, Plain old telephone service connections or ISDN connections as physical links...
packet network or by directly dialling ISPs abroad. These methods were used only by a few of the largest Yugoslav companies and by the academic network.
Introduction of Internet
After the Dayton peace agreement was signed in the middle of November 1995 (ending the war in BosniaBosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
), some of the UN sanctions against Yugoslavia were lifted, opening up the possibility of decent Internet access for Yugoslavia.
On 14 December 1995, Belgrade's Radio B92
B92
B92 is a radio and television broadcaster with national coverage headquartered in Belgrade, Serbia. The network's key demographic is chiefly urban and young audience. Its programs, including the news cover topics with fairly liberal political painted attitudes...
formed an Internet division which became known as Opennet
OpenNet
OpenNet may refer to the following:*OpenNet Initiative, a joint project with a goal of monitoring and reporting internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations*OpenNet , a Russian news site about free and open source software...
. A128 Kbps link (a leased phone line) between Radio B92 and XS4All
XS4ALL
XS4ALL is the third-oldest Internet service provider in the Netherlands, after NLnet and SURFnet. However, XS4ALL was the first company to offer Internet access to individuals, since 1993...
ISP in Amsterdam was sponsored by the Fund for an Open Society. Opennet became the first Yugoslav ISP to offer affordable public Internet access, e-mail accounts and Web space.
Like Radio B92, Opennet strongly supported the Internet as a means of free expression and promoting tolerance and open communication. The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
honored Opennet's director Drazen Pantic as the EFF Pioneer for 1999, in recognition of his continued promotion of these values and of his contribution to the development of civil society in Yugoslavia. Opennet was also the first Yugoslav ISP to offer public Internet access in three computer centers, known as "Opennet classrooms", in Belgrade.
Shortly after Opennet started up, on 26 February 1996 the first commercial Yugoslav ISP - Beotel - established a 512 kbit/s satellite link with the Norwegian ISP Taide.net. In April 1996 another commercial provider started up with a local branch of EUnet International
EUnet
The roots of EUnet go back to 1982 and the first international UUCP connections. From a very loose collaboration of individual sites under the auspices of the EUUG , it evolved to the fully commercial entity EUnet International Ltd.In April 1998 the company was sold to Qwest Communications...
(now KPNQwest
KPNQwest
KPNQwest was a telecommunications company equally owned by the Dutch national telecom operator KPN and Qwest Communications International Inc., the Internet communications company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado....
). It started with a 2 Mbit/s digital ground link with Amsterdam and remains the largest and strongest ISP in Serbia. At the beginning of April 2001 EUnet owned two satellite and ground Internet links with an overall capacity of 10 Mbit/s.
During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
, Internet was a significant source of information for the population of Serbia, as well as a chance for Serbians to show their view of the bombing to the world. Serbian analyses of the latter usually conclude that use of Internet for this was successful.
21st century
Dial-up was the only way to access the Internet until the early 2000s, when several ISPs started to offer wireless access via unlicenced hardware. The equipment required for access was too expensive for most people (about 200 euros), so this way of connection became popular only in limited urban areas.The situation changed in 2002 when SBB - Serbia Broadband
Serbia Broadband
SBB is the leading cable TV and broadband Internet provider in Serbia.Ownership structure:* Mid Europa Partners...
, then a growing cable operator, approached subscribers with a cable Internet option of a tariff based 128 kbit/s access.
No sooner than 2005 national incumbent Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija is a telecommunications company based in Serbia, with its headquarters in Belgrade...
started with ADSL service.
Statistics
According to the last official survey of Internet usage in Serbia (2007), conducted by Serbian Statistical Office, 26,3% households have Internet access. By access type, division is the following:- Dial-up (PSTN and ISDN): 75,6%
- Mobile access (WAPWireless Application ProtocolWireless Application Protocol is a technical standard for accessing information over a mobile wireless network.A WAP browser is a web browser for mobile devices such as mobile phones that uses the protocol.Before the introduction of WAP, mobile service providers had limited opportunities to offer...
, GPRS): 16,1% - Cable InternetCable internetIn telecommunications, cable Internet access, often shortened to cable Internet or simply cable, is a form of broadband Internet access that uses the cable television infrastructure. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge...
: 15,6% - (A)DSL: 12,1%
- Other: 3,0%
It is believed that "Mobile access" includes wireless access as well. It is likely so, since Statistical Office of Serbia already has history of absurdness in this area of research - in previous, 2006 Internet usage survey, there was no cable Internet in questionnaire so this type of access came under "modem access", together with dial-up, although at that time there was nearly two times more cable Internet
Cable internet
In telecommunications, cable Internet access, often shortened to cable Internet or simply cable, is a form of broadband Internet access that uses the cable television infrastructure. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge...
subscribers than ADSL ones. Some believe that this was done intentionally in both cases, since Serbian authorities struggle to present Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija is a telecommunications company based in Serbia, with its headquarters in Belgrade...
and its ADSL as driving force of broadband Internet in Serbia.
Broadband access
Cable is provided by several providers (mostly in larger cities) and ADSL is available through a number of ISPs, all using the services of Telekom SrbijaTelekom Srbija
Telekom Srbija is a telecommunications company based in Serbia, with its headquarters in Belgrade...
. Wireless access is also available in every part of Serbia.
ADSL providers:
- BeotelNet
- EUnetEUnet (Serbia)EUnet is an Internet service provider from Serbia. The full name of the company that has a franchise for the EUnet brand is YUnet International d.o.o.-History:...
- Neobee
- PTT Net
- Orion Telecom
- Telekom SrbijaTelekom SrbijaTelekom Srbija is a telecommunications company based in Serbia, with its headquarters in Belgrade...
- Verat
- YUBC
ADSL flat rate
Flat rate
A flat fee, also referred to as a flat rate or a linear rate, refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. Rarely, it may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of use...
options:
- 1.5M/256 kbit/s from 15€
- 4M/512 kbit/s from 21€
- 6M/1024 kbit/s from 37€
- 8M/1024 kbit/s from 41€
- 16M/1024 kbit/s from 44€
Some ISPs offers discount up to 15% or up to 40% on 16 M option with 24 months contract.
Due to late introduction of ADSL in Serbia and rapid advancement of cable and Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
technologies that enabled quick and inexpensive expansion of infrastructure, those two technologies are widely used in Serbia for broadband access.
Prices vary in different parts of Serbia, and depending on type of services offered.
Cable service providers:
- SBB - Serbia BroadbandSerbia BroadbandSBB is the leading cable TV and broadband Internet provider in Serbia.Ownership structure:* Mid Europa Partners...
- Radijus VektorRadijus VektorRadijus Vektor is a Serbian company providing cable television and high-speed Internet. It is one of the largest cable operators in the Republic of Serbia.-Divisions:...
- PTT Net
- AvcomAvcomLLC "Aerolimousine" is an airline based in Russia. It operates VIP charter flights out of Moscow Domodedovo Airport.- Fleet :As of June 2009 the Aerolimousine fleet includes the following aircraft: *1 British Aerospace BAe 125*3 Yakovlev Yak-40...
- IKOMIkomIkom is a Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ikom in the east of the area on the Cross River and the A4 highway at.It has an area of 1,961 km² and a population of 162,383 at the 2006 census....
Cable flat rate
Flat rate
A flat fee, also referred to as a flat rate or a linear rate, refers to a pricing structure that charges a single fixed fee for a service, regardless of usage. Rarely, it may refer to a rate that does not vary with usage or time of use...
options:
- 6 Mbit/s from 14.5€
- 9 Mbit/s from 20.5€
- 12 Mbit/s from 27€
- 16 Mbit/s from 35€
Wireless providers:
- TeamNET in Novi SadNovi SadNovi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
- Media Works in Belgrade
- TippNet in SuboticaSuboticaSubotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina...
- Panonnet Works in Subotica
- MadNet
- CS Networks in SmederevoSmederevoSmederevo is a city and municipality in Serbia, on the right bank of the Danube, about 40 km downstream of the capital Belgrade. According to official results of the 2011 census, the city has a population of 107,528...
- VeratNet
- BeotelNet
- Ninet
- Suonline
- Neobee.net
- PanlinePanlinePanline is a provider of broadband Internet, wireless Internet, Web hosting in Serbia.Panline is one of the biggest ISPs based in Novi Sad....
- Yuvideo.net