Croatian town kickstarts the super-fast internet revolution in Europe
With the presentation of its project titled “The Turning Point in Duga Resa’s Development – Duga Resa Smart City” on Tuesday, the town has entered into its technologically advanced and innovative stage brought on by the introduction of the broadband wireless internet service with speeds of up to 1 Gb/s, reports Poslovni.hr on March 9, 2016.
This is a first-class development resource that could, together with the project and management know-how, raise the quality of life in the entire Karlovac County. It is primarily aimed at the entrepreneurs, as the innovations of this kind allow them to increase the competitiveness on both domestic and foreign markets. The honour to be the first European town with the ultrafast internet service is the result of the cooperation with the MICRO Projekt, Future Vision, Dynamic Digital Development, and the Ruđer Bošković Institute.
“We want to put an end to the emigration of young people out of the town and give them an opportunity to find work in Duga Resa. This is something we can achieve only if we strengthen the economy. The step we have just taken is one of the most important moves in that direction”, said Ivan Barišić, major of Duga Resa. His deputy Tomislav Boljar emphasized that Duga Resa stands ready to share its knowledge and skills with the rest of Croatia. “We believe that this technology will very soon catch the eye of the Ministry of Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, as well as the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure”, Boljar added.
Mario Novosel, co-owner and director of Future Vision, describes this as a revolution that will soon spread throughout Croatia. “Ultrafast internet connection will reach all rural areas and the islands. By 2020, in keeping with our EU goals, 100 percent of the population should have the access to the broadband internet while about 50 percent should have access to an even faster connection”, Novosel said. “Information technologies are one of the most propulsive sectors of the present day, and Ruđer Innovations at the Ruđer Bošković Institute represent an important element in the innovation culture commercialization”, said Hrvoje Žnidar, Ruđer Innovations director.
Đuro Njavro, the dean of the Zagreb-based Faculty of Economy and Management, pointed out the numerous possibilities for growth. “Duga Resa has just eliminated 99 percent of reasons why people leave their towns for bigger cities such as Zagreb. Now all the jobs can be performed equally well and equally fast from there”, Njavro said. “Our goal is to boost the economy. Croatia could soon, thanks to the synergy of its potentials and public sector’s needs, its economy and academic community, become the centre of the technological revolution”, said Mladen Šimunac, the CEO of MICRO Projekt.
