Bulgaria in 20 mln euro rural broadband push

The contract for the infrastructure project was signed between the agency’s executive director Hristin Petkov and the head of the managing authority of the EU-funded operational programme Regional Development, Denitsa Nikolova, the agency said in a statement.

The selected settlements cover an area of 7,919 square metres or 7.0% of the country’s total territory and are the place of residence for 8.0% of the country's population living outside the capital and the regional centres.

The project aims to connect all municipal administrative and public institutions, including schools, to an e-government platform, giving residents of remote areas access to electronic services such as an e-health system. The new infrastructure is also expected to boost competitiveness among IT services providers in those regions.

The programme is in full compliance with the EU's 2020 Digital Agenda for Europe, which envisages Internet access of at least 30 Mbps for all European citizens and at least 50% of the European households to have Internet connection of over 100 Mbps.

The planned broadband infrastructure should be deployed within two years.

($=0.7689 euro)