Bulgaria builds broadband network in 29 remote municipalities

Bulgaria completed the construction of high-speed broadband infrastructure in 29 remote municipalities in a bid to facilitate e-governance and enhance the competitiveness of local businesses, officials said Thursday.

One of the advantages of this "extremely important project" is that it links all the administrative structures, schools, hospitals, cultural centers and libraries, Valery Borissov, Deputy Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications, told a press conference.

Meanwhile, the spare capacity, "which is significant," will be provided to local business to build the last mile and provide high-quality internet access to people's homes, he said.

Rumen Pehlivanov, mayor of Rudozem municipality in the Rhodope Mountains, said businesses need more favorable conditions to develop jobs in hard-to-reach regions.

"I hope that this project will contribute to the development not only of the administrative services of the municipality, but also to the development of small and medium businesses, and even large enterprises, including software companies," Pehlivanov said.

"It is good that the internet came to us," said Ivancho Hristov, mayor of the small village of Gorna Beshovitsa in northwestern Bulgaria, one of the least developed regions of the European Union.

"We need to attract young people, and it cannot happen without the internet," he said.

The project, amounting to 21.175 million U.S. dollars, began in October 2012, and covered 7 percent of the country's territory where 4 percent of Bulgaria's population live. Endit