Communications Minister: Investment of BGN 478 Mln to Reduce Digital Division in Bulgaria

Dimitrina Solakova

Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Communications Minister Grozdan Karadjov at the Economist Impact forum, Sofia, February 5, 2025 (BTA Photo/Blagoy Kirilov)

Sofia,

05.02.2025 12:42

(BTA)

Nearly half a billion leva will be invested in 5G connectivity by the middle of next year, Deputy Prime Minister and Transport and Communications Minister Grozdan Karadjov said here Wednesday. The project will improve connectivity in 140 municipalities and 16 border crossings, he added. He was among the speakers at a Sofia forum titled "Bulgaria Business Summit 2025: The Challenges Facing Bulgaria", which is part of the Economist Impact series of events held by The Economist.

"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," Karadjov said. According to the Digital Decade 2024 Report, Bulgaria is one of the leaders in the European Union in fixed connectivity, with 88.6% of households having access to fibre optic lines compared to an EU average of 64%. However, 5G coverage in Bulgaria remains below the EU average, the Minister noted. 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, e-health, e-education and e-government services. This is extremely important for the social and digital inclusion of 350,000 more Bulgarians," Grozdan Karadjov added.

In freight transport, the integration of information systems is imminent, Karadjov argued. "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 significantly more difficult to do business 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 the Minister. He said 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.

/KT/