Major ICT investment in Romania is to generate a backhaul network to expand broadband internet access, benefiting residents, businesses and public authorities, while at the same time reducing the digital gap between urban and rural areas.
- 27 May 2015
The initiative focuses on 783 out of 2 268 localities throughout Romania known as “white areas”, where there is neither electronic access communication networks, nor electronic distribution communication networks. Those selected 783 localities have been divided into seven lots for the implementation of the project, which will ultimately result in some 400 000 residents, 8 500 businesses, and 2 800 public institutions gaining access to an internet broadband.
Combining new infrastructure and local assets
Project outputs include two network management centres, 3 265 km of fibre optic distribution network and four new distribution towers. The Project Implementation Unit will ensure the full implementation of the construction phase of the project.
A third of the network planned for the initiative will be built on the basis of support infrastructure that already exists. Moreover, private local operators are to contribute to the project by completing the distribution network, thus ensuring that electronic communications have a minimum, shared, bandwidth ratio to each end-user connection point.
In all, it is estimated that 480 jobs are to be created upon completion of the project.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “RO-NET: Building a national broadband infrastructure in disadvantaged areas, through the use of structural funds” is EUR 69 050 154, of which the EU’s European Regional Development Fund is contributing EUR 57 104 477 from the Operational Programme “Increase of Economic Competitiveness” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period. Work falls under the priority axis “ICT for private and public sectors.”