The project will improve connectivity in 140 municipalities and 16 border crossings
Nearly half a billion BGN will be invested in 5G connectivity by the middle of next year. This was stated by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Communications Grozdan Karadzhov at a forum of “The Economist” magazine dedicated to the development of the Bulgarian economy.
“Investment in digital infrastructure is an important priority, this includes 5G connectivity for smart roads and cloud-based digital networks that support high-tech transport solutions,” the deputy prime minister said. According to the Digital Decade Report 2024, Bulgaria is one of the leaders in the European Union in fixed connectivity, with 88.6% of households having access to optical lines compared to an EU average of 64%. However, 5G coverage in Bulgaria remains below the EU average. Digital networks are unevenly distributed, especially in sparsely populated areas where operators do not have market incentives to build infrastructure.
“The forthcoming investment in high-speed Internet will significantly improve the lives of people in remote areas by enabling teleworking, eHealth, eEducation and eGovernment services. This is extremely important for the social and digital inclusion of 350,000 more Bulgarians,” Grozzdan Karadzhov added.
He pointed out that in 2024, 9.3% of our compatriots have never used the Internet. To change this, we are working together with the telecommunications business, the minister added.
In freight transport, the integration of information systems is imminent. “At the moment, to move a commodity from A to B, you require a bunch of paper documents that are exchanged between companies and the administration. This makes it very difficult for businesses and generates additional costs, especially for small and medium-sized companies. To solve this problem we are preparing the introduction of an electronic consignment note,” added Minister Karadzhov. He informed that amendments to the Road Transport Act are to be adopted, which will put the electronic consignment note on an equal footing with the paper document.
The event was attended by President Rumen Radev, ambassadors, representatives of institutions and business.
