History of Mikrotik in Networks

For developing countries, Mikrotik solutions are very helpful for ISPs or small companies that want to join the Internet. Even though there are many mini router devices similar to NAT available, in some conditions the use of computers and Mikrotik software is the best solution. Mikrotik is a small company headquartered in Latvia, adjacent to Russia, founded by John Trully and Arnis Riekstins. John Trully is an American who immigrated to Latvia and met Arnis who has a degree in Physics and Mechanics around 1995. In 1996 John and Arnis started routing the world (Mikrotik's vision was to route the whole world). Starting with Linux and MS DOS systems combined with Aeronet Wireless LAN (W-LAN).

technology with 2Mbps speed in Molcova, neighboring Latvia, only then served five of its customers in Latvia. When I asked how many customers it currently serves, Arnis said between 10 and 20 customers, because their ambition is to make a router software that is reliable and spread throughout the world. This is somewhat contradictory with the information on the Mikrotik web, that they have 600 wireless points (subscribers) and are the largest in the world. Even though with wireless in Jogja and Bandung alone, they are likely to be unable to compete.

Their basic principle is not to make a Wireless ISP (WISP), but to make a router program that is reliable and can be run worldwide. Latvia is only an "experimental site" for John and Arnis, because now they have helped other countries including Sri Lanka, which serves around four hundred customers.

The spirit of Mikrotik is somewhat different from most similar companies in America, because they concentrate on developing software and then looking for solutions on the hardware by inviting third parties to collaborate. And we can see the variety of devices they offer is becoming more and more, starting from devices that work on the 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz frequencies to interfaces and antennas.

Mikrotik's expertise is actually in the router software, because it looks like they sell W-LAN devices with omni antennas which are highly discouraged for use in the W-LAN world, because they are very sensitive to noise and interference. Even though it has a very clear goal, which is to distribute the signal in all directions, it is a cheap solution.

Mikrotik's success in routing the world is one example, that we are all able to help potential Internet users to enter cyberspace, especially to help build the infrastructure.