General information about C7.I1 Large-scale deployment of digital connectivity on the territory of Bulgaria

The main objectives of the Recovery and Resilience Plan is to facilitate economic and social recovery from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to create a more sustainable, equitable and prosperous economy. The Government has designed a set of measures and reforms that not only are aiming to restore the potential for economic growth, but also to develop and enhance it.
The Recovery and Resilience Plan presents the views of the Government and the society on how structural problems in the economy should be addressed. It lays down a set of reforms and investments which ensure the necessary level of coherence with the actions co-planned under the EU Cohesion Policy and in the package of strategic documents for the next programming period. The additional efforts for transition to a climate-neutral economy, in the context of the ambitious goals of the European Green Deal, which are to be financed through the Just Transition Mechanism based on just transition plans, should also be taken into account. The Just Transition Mechanism (JTM) is a key tool to ensure that the transition towards a climate-neutral economy happens in a fair way, leaving no one behind.
The “Digital connectivity” component of the Recovery and Resilience Plan aims to build a modern and secure digital infrastructure and to overcome the territorial imbalances associated with the broadband penetration.
The proposed reforms and investments aim to increase deployment of very high-capacity digital infrastructure with a view to increasing coverage and distribution. This will ensure equal access to broadband-based services, which will improve the possibility of distance learning and work.
The Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), together with the Executive Agency “Electronic Governance Infrastructure” (EAEGI), in accordance with Decree No. 333 of the Council of Ministers of 20 October 2022 amending Decree No. 157 of 7 July 2022 on the designation of the authorities and structures responsible for the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria, are responsible for the implementation of investment C7.I1 "Large-scale deployment of digital infrastructure on the territory of Bulgaria" of the NRRP.
The investment has two main objectives:

• Extending the geographical coverage of the Unified Electronic Communications Network (UECN) of the state administration to all municipal centers, reserving of the optical rings, increasing the capacity and ensuring high reliability, security and cyber resilience of the network for the needs of the state administration and national security;
• Support the deployment of Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN).

The Executive Agency Electronic Governance Infrastructure is the Final Recipient (FR) for the part of the investment concerning the acquisition of active equipment to enable the launch of the procurement procedures, and MTC has taken over the functions of the Monitoring and Reporting Structure (MRS) for the rest of the investment. This is to achieve a coordinated approach to the implementation of the investment, which requires large-scale planning and construction in a short timeframe of electronic communications networks throughout the country.
The Monitoring and Reporting Structure (MRS) under the Supplementary Provisions of Decree No 114 of 8 June 2022 laying down detailed rules for the disbursement of funds to final recipients under the Recovery and Resilience Facility is a designated unit within a ministry, other department of the central administration of the executive authority, or a designated unit thereof, which is responsible for the selection, where provided for, for the negotiation of funding with final recipients, for the compilation of financial and technical information and for the monitoring of the financial and technical implementation of investments implemented under an agreement with the Ministry of Finance.
As indicated in the Connected Bulgaria - Updated National Broadband Infrastructure Plan for Next Generation Access, there are many regions that are not connected to fibre networks. Funds will be directed towards the construction of backhaul connection via optical fibre in areas where no such construction is foreseen by the end of 2026.
It will support the deployment of Very High Capacity Networks (VHCN) as defined in Article 2(2) of the European Electronic Communications Code. The newly built networks will provide access for both fixed and mobile networks providing services to end customers. The activities on investment design, coordination and approval of the investment projects, issuance of construction permits and commissioning of physical infrastructure for deployment of electronic communications networks will be carried out under the terms and conditions of the Spatial Development Act. The design and deploying of the networks, including dark fibre, will be in compliance with the requirements of the Electronic Communications Networks and Physical Infrastructure Act (ECNPI), which transposes Directive 2014/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on measures to reduce the costs of deploying high-speed electronic communications networks into national law.
Priority will be given to reusing existing infrastructure as much as possible. This approach will allow more effective and efficient use of investment resources, which in turn will facilitate the deployment of connectivity to end users through appropriate VHCN technologies, including fibre and 5G. Beneficiaries will be obliged to manage the networks built as neutral infrastructure and to make them available to other operators under the terms of wholesale access to physical infrastructure.
The backhaul connectivity built under the measure will also be used to extend the geographical coverage and fibre optic capacity of the Unified Electronic Communications Network (UECN) to connect municipal centres, in line with the objectives of Action 1. All new routes will be built in strict compliance with the principles of transparency and competitiveness, and the pipe and fibre capacities will be tailored to the settlements along the respective routes, as well as to the needs and future development potential of the areas.
Capacity building, management and promotion activities are foreseen. These are necessary for the full implementation of the intervention and are defined as “non-state aid”.