Infrastructure

a) Strengthen and further develop the Mongolian national backbone

i. Start by establishing peering exchanges between all ISPs

ii. Use existing wireless (VSAT, etc.) capacity to help reach all Aimag centres and select secondary cities and selected somoms

iii. Examine the possibility of using satellite solutions such as DirecPC in rural areas with existing dial-up connections

iv. Consider the possibility of introducing local dial-up access to ISPs from all Aimag centres and selected other locations. Mongolia Telecoms (TelecoMongolia) is in the process of doing this.

b) Negotiate the use of existing telecommunications infrastructure

Several public corporations maintain VSAT and possibly other wireless connections to many of the aimag centres. 

i. Examine the business case for extending Internet access to aimags and other locations using unused capacity. ISPs have already considered the possibility and will advise accordingly. In collaboration with these organizations, determine the technical characteristics of their telecommunications networks and facilities. In Bangladesh, the Grameen Bank has developed a novel project that allows entrepreneurs, mostly women, to purchase cell phones and rent these out on a call by call basis. Bangladesh has a very large and concentrated population, so the business case for extending this service was very clear .

ii. Encourage existing telecommunications users such as the Civil Aviation Authority, the National Petroleum Company, the Mongolian Railway Company and others to share facilities, services and bandwidth in Mongolia. 

c) Participate in Asian infrastructure initiatives

i. Mongolia must participate officially via the ICT Advisory Council in regional infrastructure planning activities such as:

- The Asia Pacific Advanced Network (APAN) 
- The Asia Pacific Information Infrastructure (APII) 
- Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC)

d) Strengthen Mongolian connections to the Asian Internet backbone

i. Participate in Asian infrastructure networking initiatives, especially those that encourage intra-regional connections between Asian countries.

- The possibility exists to connect directly via the Mongolian Railway Project optical fiber cable network to be laid along the railway. This network will stretch from North to South. Will it extend beyond to enable connection to other centres in Russia and China?

ii. The Government of Japan has considerable interest in, involvement with and investment in Internet infrastructure in the Asian region. The Government of Japan is also the largest provider of development aid to Mongolia, i.e. about USD 150 million / year. With the support of the Government of Mongolia, approach the Government of Japan and other donors to examine the possibility of obtaining help to strengthen connections between Mongolia and an Asian Internet hub.

iii. Consider establishing a direct or point to point connection to Europe. Similarly, approach European donors to consider their support in establishing this broadband network connection. One possible European partner is the European Academic Research Network: Dante: see: http://www.dante.net. One possible way of realizing this is via the railroad fiber connections and its possible extension via Russian fiber and wireless links to Europe.

e) To provide universal access to ICTs by all Mongolians, starting in the provincial and sub-provincial centres

Action items

i. In collaboration with the Ministry of Infrastructure, TelecoMongolia and the Mongolia Railways Corporation, and other national and local government authorities, encourage, promote and augment existing plans for linking all aimag centres and selected somoms to the Internet. This will involve:

- Evaluating telecommunications options presently available and associated costs of using these

- Several Mongolian public organizations use satellite communications. Negotiate with these organizations to determine the feasibility of using (renting or leasing) spare capacity on these telecommunications links to establish IP connections with as many aimag centres as possible. Negotiate fair prices based on market conditions and then seek other support when the business case for self-sufficient or user-pay access renders the proposal to not be commercial viable

- The business case of extending Internet connections is probably not sufficient to warrant extending full channel satellite communications, via very small aperture terminal (VSAT) satellites for example, to all aimags, although some aimag centres are thus connected.

- Other options need to be considered, including DirecPC type of connections. The DirecPC footprint covers the Eastern part of Mongolia and could be sufficient to help establish a LAN linking a variety of public access facilities and even businesses. In some cases, a live connection may not be possible, in which case, other information exchange options, including CD-ROM, could be considered. The ICT Advisory Council and the ICT Development Agency will examine this and other options.

- Select 5 representative aimags from around the country and develop connectivity solutions / proposals for them. Do the same for 10 somoms.

- Test the solutions proposed in these aimags and somoms.