The UNIBEL Academic Internet Service Provider has been serving the research, education, culture and other not-for-profit communities of Minsk since 1993, and has developed extensive experience in this area. It currently serves over a hundred customers, including many major research institutes, Belarussian State University, Polytechnical Academy etc. It's headquartered at Computer and Analytical Center of Ministry of Education. UNIBEL represents Belarus in major international networking organizations (TERENA, CEENET). Its activities have earned recognition and financial support from a number of organizations, such as the UNDP, Open Society Institute/Soros Foundation, NATO, UNESCO, etc.
UNIBEL runs several telecommunication projects and coordinates activities in the sphere of computer networking for education and research. One of the largest and most important projects is "Internet Project" supported by UNDP, Open Society Institute and Government of Belarus. An Internet backbone network was put in place once the first stage of Minsk Internet Project had been implemented in Minsk. Fiber optic network is now connecting nine nodes including Belarussian State University, BELTELECOM head-quarter, Center of Information Security and UNIBEL Network Operation Center located at Computer and Analytical Center. Using the current equipment, it will be available for use by hundreds organizations and numerous private individuals in Minsk. At the moment, the backbone network is being used by 200 various organizations from the Minsk social sector. Internet Training Center has been established at Belarussian State University.
Currently UNIBEL has got 128kbps leased line to BELPAK (official provider of Ministry of Communications). Fiber optical cable connecting Minsk backbone and BELPAK has been put in operation. This will give a possibility to use BELPAK’s satellite connectivity to MCI (TELEPORT) and DEMOS (Moscow) and possible upgrade up to 512kbps.
The second stage of the Project was to create Internet backbone nodes in Belarussian regional towns and hook them up to the Minsk backbone network. As a result of this stage, over 75 organizations from the Belarussian provinces gained Internet access. Among them are Vitebsk State University, Vitebsk University of Technology, Polotsk University, Gomel University, Gomel Polytechnical Institute, Mogiliov Technical Institute, Mogiliov Regional Library, Brest Polytechnic Institute, Grodno State University, Grodno Medical Institute and others.
www.unibel.by
www.cacedu.unibel.by
Contact information:
Nikolay Listopad
Computer and Aalytical Centre
59 Zakharova Street Minsk 220088 Belarus
e-mail: listopad@unibel.by
Sergei Kritsky
Belarussian University of Informatics and Radioelectronics
6 P.Brovki Street Minsk 220027 Belarus
e-mail: kritsky@unibel.by