IT news

On 25 March 2021, the Member States, in close cooperation with the Commission, agreed on a Union-wide Connectivity Toolbox, pursuant to the Connectivity Recommendation of 18 September 2020. The Toolbox consists of a set of best practices that are considered as the most efficient in allowing and encouraging operators to roll out very high capacity networks.

Europe’s future is determined by the successful achievement of the digital and green transitions. The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on economy and society have underlined the crucial role of digital technologies for people andbusinesses. Digital technologies are critical to recover from the crisis, to ensure that everybody and everywhere can benefit from digital opportunities, to foster EU’s resilience and address the risks and dependencies on third countries, as well as to influence EU’s positioning on the global stage.

On February 9, 2021, was held a seminar of the Broadband Competence Offices (BCO) Network, at which representatives of the National Broadband Competence Office (BCO Bulgaria) were invited to share experience and good practices in promoting the initiative of the European Commission WiFi4EU developed under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to build free high-speed and high-quality wireless internet connection in public areas. 

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organize a  Roundtable on “The Telecommunications industry in the post-COVID-19 world”, to be held on 4 February 2021, 14.00-16.00 CET.

The objective of this Roundtable is to understand and further take stock on some of the changes and potential funding challenges within the telecommunications sector in the post-COVID-19 world, focusing on:

What are the new business and operating models required to connect everyone?

On behalf of the European Commission, the CEF Automated Translation Tools and Services consortium launched a survey in December 2020 to find out how European SMEs would like eTranslation (the CEF Automated Translation platform) to be improved and expanded to include new digital services. You can find the link to the survey below!

The survey focuses on four key areas identified as priorities by the European Commission: 

With Written Statement No. 72 of the regular meeting of the Council of Ministers on 16.12.2020, a Concept for the Development of Artificial Intelligence in Bulgaria until 2030 was adopted.

The Broadband Cost Reduction Directive aims to facilitate and incentivise the roll-out of high-speed electronic communications networks by lowering the costs of deployment with a set of harmonised measures.

The Commission is carrying out an evaluation of the current measures under the Broadband Cost Reduction Directive and an impact assessment of a new Commission legislative proposal.

This public consultation aims to gather stakeholders’ views on the implementation of the Directive.

The public consultation is open from 02 December to 02 March 2021. 

The new Recovery and Resilience Facility will provide large-scale financial support for Member States' reforms and investments to mitigate the economic and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to make EU economies more sustainable, resilient to shocks and better prepared for the challenges of environmental and digital transition.

The COVID-19 crisis has shown that connectivity is essential for people and businesses in the Union. Electronic communications networks, in particular very high capacity networks, have been playing a crucial role in the response to the crisis by enabling remote working and schooling, healthcare, and personal communication and entertainment. Widespread gigabit connectivity underpins bandwidth-intensive use cases in the fields of health, education, transport, logistics, and media, which can play a key role in Europe’s economic recovery.

On 20 March 2024 the European Commission (EC) has adopted the Horizon Europe strategic plan 2025-2027 for research and innovation to underpin journey to a green, digital and resilient future.

By Decision No 555 and Decision No 556 of the Council of Ministers of 6 August 2020, an updated National Broadband Infrastructure Plan for Next Generation Access "Connected Bulgaria" and an Updated policy in the field of electronic communications of the Republic of Bulgaria were adopted.

By Decision No 493 of 21 July 2020 a national strategic document "Digital Transformation of Bulgaria for the period 2020-2030" was adopted. The document sets out the principles of digital change in the main areas of economic life. The aim of the widespread use of digital technologies is to reduce the use of energy and resources.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a European strategy for data. The results of this study will be included in possible Commission initiatives on data access and reuse in the coming months. Participation in the consultation is done by filling out a survey.

The working group on switching cloud providers and data porting ('SWIPO') presented the first copies of two data portability Codes of Conduct to the Council and the Commission, as foreseen in the Regulation on the Free Flow of non-personal Data.

The ‘SWIPO’ cloud stakeholder working group has finalised the development of two Codes of Conduct on data portability and cloud switching.

The WSIS Forum 2020 will be held from 6 to 9 April 2020 at ITU Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The overall theme for WSIS Forum 2020 is "Fostering digital transformation and global partnerships: WSIS Action Lines for achieving SDGs”. 

During this year's Internet Governance Forum in Berlin, #IGF2019 a roundtable discussion took place at the EQUALS initiative of the International Telecommunications Union.

Participants from the Ministry of Transport, Information Technology and Communications (MTITC) were invited to participate by sharing Bulgarian initiatives for women's equality and women's participation in ICT in particular. ЕQUALS‏ @equals Nov 26

 

Broadband is recognised by the European Commission as one of the main tools for improving of the economic and social well-being of the population. It is becoming an increasingly important factor not only for the competitiveness of the enterprises, but also for supporting social inclusion and enables the development and use of e-government services. The spread of high-speed connectivity can lead to a significant increase in gross domestic product, employment, the competitiveness of national economies on the international scene and the quality of life.

Hardly anyone doubts today the media has undergone revolutionary transformation and perform a ubiquitous role. Media convergence signifies not just a change, but the emergence of qualitatively new relationships between industries, markets, technologies and different types of audiences. The most striking emblem of the environment we are immersed in is social networks and their increasing impact on our life.