Networking Developments in the Causasus Region

Due to their belonging to the High Energy Physics community, the first links to the Caucasus region took place through the Yerevan Physics Institute (YerPhI) and through the High Energy Physics Institute of Tbilisi Sate University (HEPI TSU). These connections were established in between 1994 and 1996 with the support of NATO and INTAS. Apart from these flagship projects that played a crucial role in the development of the Internet in the region, the coverage of this part of the world remains minimal. Even if local connectivity has dramatically improved lately (as in Yerevan) by the generalization of the usage of radio-modems, providing connectivity to remote academic and research institutions is still a challenge. Moreover, these developments face the type of problems already identified in the Tartu Declaration (1997) in other regions such as the Balkans and the Baltic States. One of the challenges of the book is to go beyond the physical (the mountains) and the political (the large number of small states and territories) barriers in the region. Consequently, the prime objectives of the book are: - to give the opportunity to network managers and policy makers to meet physically and exchange views on the present networking situation in their respective regions; - to help them define the needs of the region and the possible areas of co-operation; - to provide them with the proper information and expertise for planning projects in the near future.