Information Technology

Well-trained and highly qualified staff will be sought for the construction of infrastructure in the Western Balkans. This was stated by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, Rossen Jeliazkov, to undergraduate students, PhD students and teachers from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy. He inaugurated a new laboratory at Roads and Transportation Facilities Department for tests related to the design, construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure.

We need to achieve synergies between € 3 billion in European funds over the next 7-year period and the efforts of economic operators to build high-speed digital infrastructure. This was stated by Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during the opening of the Regional Seminar: "Connecting Europe Facility 2 (CEF 2): New digital opportunities".

The Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications calls on Bulgarian organizations and citizens to participate in a public consultation of the European Commission on the Digital Agenda for Europe 2021-2027. The program has a budget of € 9.2 billion. The public consultation focuses on the priorities and project proposals for the first 2 years of the 2021-2022 program.

5G technology is a revolution for the economy, industry, society and people. This was stated by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during the first call via 5G mobile network in Bulgaria. The demonstration was part of the series of 5G practice tests carried out by Telenor Telecommunication Company.

The creation of a Consultative Council between government, industry and industry experts can accelerate the creation of ethical rules for the development of artificial intelligence and help to make effective use of the European supercomputer in Bulgaria. This idea was supported by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen  Jeliazkov and representatives of the IT business during the second Round Table on the Digital Economy, which was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bulgaria.

A total of € 27 million is the budget of the second 2019 competition in the Telecommunications sector of the Connecting Europe Facility. Proposals will begin on 4 July 2019 and will continue until November 14, 2019. The Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, as national coordinator of the program in the Telecommunications sector, supports Bulgarian organizations wishing to join .

Southeast Europe Digital Infrastructure Projects will be eligible for EU funding after 2020. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rosen Zhelyazkov at a forum dedicated to innovation in the InnoStart Forum 2019. The event is organized by the American Chamber of Commerce.

With its active role as organizer of international initiatives, Bulgaria has won the privilege to host one of the most significant events for Europe in 2020 - the Regional Cyber ​​Security Forum. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov to the participants in the World Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Consuls held in Sofia. According to him, the upcoming event strengthens the image of our country as being strongly committed to building a sustainable cybernetic environment.

"Bulgaria is working to create a cybersecurity ecosystem and develop a holistic vision. This approach will foster trust between businesses and citizens and can cope with fragmentation between countries and regions, "the minister said.

Minister Rossen Jeliazkov predicts that by 2020 the number of connected devices will reach tens of billions. "Our goal is to encourage the use of digital services to overcome the digital divide. At the same time, cyber security is critical because modern systems can be seriously affected by incidents such as technical malfunctions and viruses, "he said.

Minister Jeliazkov reminded that the state has made significant investments in modern optical infrastructure. Over 7,000 km of backbone network is used by the state administration to provide secure and innovative electronic services. The goal is that by 2025 all schools, transport centers and major public service providers, as well as digitally-intensive businesses, will be able to use the Internet at a rate of one GB per second. In addition, all households should have access to networks that provide a speed of at least 100 Mbps. Main roads and railways must have continuous 5G wireless broadband coverage, starting with providing this service in at least one major city in any EU member state by 2020.

In front of the participants, Minister Rossen Jeliazkov presented the priorities in the transport infrastructure in Bulgaria. He stressed that our country works with neighboring countries in the implementation of a number of infrastructure projects, which is in line with the development of the Trans-European Transport Network.

The European Supercomputing Infrastructure will bring the European Union to a leading position. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov at the Council of Telecommunications Ministers in Luxembourg. Within the session, Commissioner Gabriel announced the eight countries, including Bulgaria, as hosts of European supercomputer centers.

The optimization of radio spectrum charges is an important condition for more investment in the mobile communications sector. This was the opinion of the three big telecom operators - VIVACOM (Bulgarian Telecommunications Company), Telenor and A1 (Mobiltel), expressed at a meeting with the Minister of Transport, Information Technologies and Communications, Mr. Rosen Zhelyazkov, the Chairman of the Communications Regulation Commission Ivan Dimitrov and representatives of Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.

Sixty-three Bulgarian municipalities have been approved for funding by the European Commission's second free WiFi competition under the WiFi4EU initiative. Thus, 176 local government centers (66% of the total) will create areas for free access to the global network. Fifteen other municipalities are on a reserve list, giving them the chance to be approved at a later stage.

The total amount of funding for the Bulgarian municipalities in the second competition is EUR 945 000.

The Bulgarian and Iranian aviation authorities will negotiate an amendment to the current air transport agreement and the future direct line between the two countries. This is one of the results of the Intergovernmental Bulgarian-Iranian Commission on Economic, Scientific, Trade and Technical Cooperation, held on 18 and 19 April in Sofia, the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov announced during the closing session. He pointed out that a meeting of the Joint Committee on International Road Transport was held within the session.

Bulgaria is ready to host the Regional Cyber Security Forum for Europe in 2020. Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov stated this during a meeting with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union, Houlin Zhao. This will be the fourth edition of the forum holding in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is one of the countries with the highest participation of women in the ICT sector, about 34% of all IT specialists. The Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov announced this during a meeting today with Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union. She is the first woman in the history of the organization, in a senior management post. The talks are part of Minister Jeliazkov’s program during the World Summit on Information Society.

After 43% of Bulgarian municipalities have won funding for high-speed wireless internet in public places, now more than 150 municipalities can participate in the second phase of the WiFi4EU initiative.

Initiatives on attracting more women in the field of information and communication technologies were presented among the countries from the BSEC region at a workshop. The Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications hosted the event, which is part of the Bulgarian Presidency of the BSEC Organization. The participants agreed that attracting women in ICT sector is part of the national policies that need to be developed.

The impact of Brexit on roaming tariffs was discussed at a meeting today with Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov and Seán Kyne TD, Minister of State for Community Development, Natural Resources and Digital Development.

Bulgaria has the ambition to become a supercomputer center in Eastern Europe and can be a partner of Armenia in high-speed connectivity projects. This was stated by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov at a meeting with his Armenian counterpart, Hakob Arshakyan. The conversation is part of the program of the eighth meeting of the Bulgarian-Armenian intergovernmental commission for economic and scientific-technical cooperation in Yerevan, which is headed by Minister Jeliazkov.

By 2025, we will build the rail connection with Northern Macedonia. This was announced by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov at the first meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation between the two countries, which took place yesterday and today in Skopje. The Commission is chaired by Minister Rossen Jeliazkov and Minister of Economy of the Republic of Northern Macedonia Kreshnik Bekteshi.

Bulgaria has the potential to develop high-product calculations as applications in the field of medicine and genetics, which will generate benefits to the countries in the region, said the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications Rossen Jeliazkov during the Informal Meeting of the EU Telecommunication Minsters in Bucharest, Romania. The Digital strategy beyond 2020 was discussed within the forum.