On this day 25 years ago, the very first meeting of the Committee for the Croatian Academic and Research Network – CARNet was held. Its objective was to organize a network that would enable communication for every scientist or student with all other scientists and students in the Republic of Croatia and the entire world.
In November 1992, the first international communication link was established, connecting the CARNet node in Zagreb with Austria. This marked the beginning of the internet age in the Republic of Croatia, with the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNet) becoming the country's first Internet service provider (ISP). The initial institutions to utilize an internet connection were the University Computing Centre – Srce, the Faculty of Economics and Business in Osijek, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Zagreb, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Shipbuilding in Split, the Ruđer Bošković Institute, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics in Zagreb, and the Faculty of Engineering in Rijeka. For the subsequent several years, CARNet remained the sole Internet service provider in Croatia. It offered internet services free of charge, not only to the academic community but also to all citizens of the Republic of Croatia.
On March 27, 1993, the international organization Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) granted CARNet the rights to administer the .hr top-level domain. On March 1, 1995, the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the Regulation on the Establishment of the Croatian Academic and Research Network (CARNet) as an institution responsible for computer and IT infrastructure activities in education and science.
In its work over the past 25 years, CARNet has actively contributed to the development of a digitally mature society in Croatia through numerous projects, such as e-Islands, e-Class Register, Schools 2.0, and, in particular, the project “e-Schools: Establishing a System for Developing Digitally Mature Schools (Pilot Project).” CARNet also offers over 70 services, ranging from education and training to internet connectivity, multimedia, computer security, and user support, connecting nearly 1,400 schools and more than 250 academic institutions, 35 of which are in the healthcare sector.