YEREVAN. – Enterprise Incubator Foundation (EIF) provided 344 remote villages in Armenia with free Internet. Since January 2015, the locals have been able to connect to free Wi-Fi at their communities’ focal points.
The project was made possible through the support of the RA Government and the World Bank within the framework of the “E-Society and Innovation for Competitiveness (EIC)” program, Ms Zhenya Azizyan, Project Manager of EIF, told Armenian News – NEWS.am.
The project covers remote, bordering, and mountainous communities with up to 1,000 residents. No usage limit per user or village is imposed.
The main goal of the project is to provide internet access and increase its level of use in rural areas of Armenia.
WB will help to cover Internet costs for a year, afterwards the devices will be transferred to municipalities, which will run free Wi-Fi for at least 2 years.
By current polls, residents prefer social and informative websites, video chatting, and in some cases, making downloads.
Traffic volume suggests rather high demand, Azizyan commented. According to July data, each village used on average 17.5 Gb, while the total amount of all 344 villages was 6 TB. This is comparable to the traffic flow of a big business office or a national ministry.
