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By June 2010 three private operators will install 680 Internet kiosks with wireless Internet access for the citizens of the rural areas across the country.
On 25 January 2010, a contract was signed between the Minister for Information Society, Mr. Ivo Ivanovski and the representatives of the private companies who won the electronic public bidding on the basis of the lowest price offered.
The service the operators will need to provide includes the installation of the Internet kiosks that will be located in rural areas close to schools, through which the wireless system will transmit free Internet signal within a radius of 250 meters. Kiosks are made of stainless steel material resistant to any possible extreme weather phenomena (from -20 to +60 degrees Celsius) and contain built-in computers with a metallic keyboard and with security features that block access to any undesirable content.
During the press conference, the Minister stated that "with the installation of the 680 Internet kiosks, the citizens of rural areas will take advantage of the benefits of modern technology". He added that he expected the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to become an example for other European countries in terms of reducing the digital divide and of promoting eInclusion.
Mr. Ivanovski said that the cost of the Internet kiosks and the free Internet to citizens will
reach the amount of about €2.5 million. Initially the economic offer for this service was €4.72 million, but thanks to the electronic public bid, the offer reached very low prices with a decrease of 10 % to 36 %, depending on the region the operators applied for.
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