Bulgaria is to build a portal to aggregate all the rules and regulations that deal with the construction of telecommunication networks. The portal is an initiative of the Ministry for ICT and the country’s association of municipalities.
The portal will provide all regulations and information for the construction and deployment of telecommunication infrastructure. The website should make it easier for companies to find all necessary documents, and make it easier to identify registered telecom operators currently building or maintaining networks. “This will end the anonymous laying of cables. It will make clear which firm is constructing and which company is operating telecom networks”, writes the Ministry for Transport and ICT (MTITC).
The portal was announced by MTITC on 15 November following a meeting with the representatives of the municipalities.
Public hotspots
The portal should help improve planning of road works and the construction of, or repairs to, other utility networks, such as water and electricity. Better planning will lower costs, the ministry hopes. Municipalities are to update the portal with detailed plans for construction and maintenance.
The ministry also presented plans to provide broadband Internet access to government buildings, schools, hospitals, railway stations, library and public parks. The broadband plan is funded in part by the Connecting Europe Facility, which is providing EUR 20 million. The ministry said it is making available up to EUR 20,000 for specific broadband projects. A first round of projects is to be announced in early 2017.
The broadband access includes creating public WiFi hotspots, funded through the EU’s WIFI4EU project.