While his entrepreneurial counterparts in the United States become wealthy beyond imagination by selling shares of their Internet companies in initial public offerings, Andoni does not even know what the term means. The crumbling road and unfinished building that houses Adanet is representative of the poor infrastructure throughout the country. Albania is perhaps the poorest country in Europe. Most homes in the capital city of Tirana have only a hole in the floor for a toilet, which must be flushed out with a pail of water. Hot running water is usually provided by electric heaters that take 30 minutes to warm 10 gallons, and are usually turned off.
Water service is intermittent throughout the day.
Roughly 90 percent of Albanian homes do not have phone lines. With the recent surge of ethnic Albanian refugees and foreign military and humanitarian personnel into the country, it can take an hour of attempts before an international call connects. Andoni says many foreigners have signed up with Adanet to use software that allows them to make international calls at U.S. rates, which are roughly a tenth of Albanian prices. Adanet has set up high-speed microwave Internet connections throughout Tirana, and offers service in the port city of Durres, the second largest in the country. A satellite link connects Adanet directly to the Internet in New York City.