Subject: n-1-4-fill7 Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States - A New Frontier by Lawrence Yeung One UNDP project has been initiated to support the countries' transition in Eastern Europe and the CIS, to market economy and democracy by assisting them in the access and exchange of information between themselves and in having an open dialogue with western industrialized nations. For UNDP to help achieve these goals it is necessary to install a communication network that permits the exchange of E-mail and information among countries and with UNDP, and allows access to information and databases that will encourage and improve the exchange of ideas between governments, parliamentarians, academics and change agents within the civil society worldwide. Since some of these locations will urgently need access to efficient data communication and office automation, the proposed strategy is to implement the tools for this in stages. The first will concentrate on getting the communication in place as soon as possible while UNDP Offices are being established and the second to install a more permanent and cost effective solution for all countries concerned. It is intended at the initial stage that UNDP offices will serve as electronic post offices for in-country and external communication. Although there has been a success with Internet email from the UNDP office in Minsk Belarus using ADONIS through the Belarussian Academy of Sciences and BASNET, it is important for the offices to have a robust communications system to handle programme activities. Unlike the 'traditional' UNDP office setup with administrative support, the new office environment will focus only on substantive programme work. Thus, effective information interchange among the regional offices and with headquarters is critical. In December 1992, UNDP were given a donation in kind by Unisource Satellite Services funded by a consortium of PTT's to establish a network of 11 VSAT's (Very Small Aperture Terminals) using the Eutelsat II satellite launched in July. The countries which UNDP hopes to include in the first batch of 11 are : Albania, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and some of the countries among the Caucasus Republics and the Baltic States. It is expected that the first VSAT be operational at the end of the first quarter 1993. *Chief of Operations, Division of Management Information Services, UNDP