Cabinet adopts strategy for increasing internet coverage in Bulgaria

On Wednesday, the Pari daily organised a second successive ICT business forum in Bulgaria and the council of ministers approved the national strategy for boosting internet coverage in the country.

Broadband internet coverage of the whole country is one of this cabinet’s  priorities, deputy minister of transport and ITC Parvan Rusinov told the participants in the event. In the next two years pilot projects will be launched in 76 towns. The country needs unified policy, planning and partnership in fund absorption, he added.

Support

Representatives of information technology and communication companies lent their support to the cabinet’s ideas and called for order in the execution and assessment of public contracts. The government should define the framework and the sectors to help develop the necessary infrastructure for electronic services.

Demands

Broadband access is as important as highways, Microsoft Bulgaria’s director Ognyan Kiryakov said. Another request of the IT business is the outsourcing of services. It is high time the country began buying services and not equipment. Financing is also a problem. E-government, which is one of the priorities, is not financially secured.