The Croatian Academic and Research Network - CARNet was established in 1991 as a project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Croatia. In March 1995 the Government of the Republic of Croatia passed the Decree on founding of the CARNet institution with the purpose of facilitating progress of individuals, as well as of the society as a whole, through the use of new information technologies.

CARNet's activities can be divided in three basic areas: Internet service provision, encouragement of information society development and education for the new era.

CARNet network is a private network of Croatian academic, scientific and research community, as well as of institutions of elementary and high school educational system. The network infrastructure is owned by CARNet institution, but cables are rented from various telecommunication providers. CARNet network is an example of a WAN network (Wide Area Network – a network distributed over large distances), which enables CARNet members throughout Croatia to connect into a compact information and communication system.

The key characteristic of every private network is its connection to the global network - Internet. CARNet network established this connection through the pan-European research network GEANT, at the current connection speed of 10 Gbps. GEANT network is a result of a European Union initiative, as well as initiatives of other European academic networks, to establish technologically most developed computer network which would connect all European national academic and research networks, as well as to establish a connection towards the so-called commercial Internet.

Connection to other Internet providers in Croatia has been implemented through the Croatian Internet Exchange Point – CIX. In Croatia, CARNet network connects major Croatian towns on land and a number of settlements on the islands. Larger university centres (Dubrovnik, Osijek, Pula, Rijeka, Split, Zadar, Zagreb) have high speed connections (ranging from 155 Mbps to 1 Gbps), while smaller centres are connected at the speed ranging from 2 Mbps to 100 Mbps. Zagreb has a particularly advanced infrastructure, connecting larger faculties and scientific institutions at the speeds of up to 10 Gbps.

Furthermore, as part of the "Net in School" project, more than 900 institutions from elementary and high school educational system are connected to CARNet network via ADSL connections through four points of traffic exchange. Besides, a number of schools on Croatian islands are now connected to CARNet network within the e-Islands project.