Compliance of Investment C7.I1 with Regulation (EU) No 651/2014

The "Digital Connectivity" component of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) aims to develop modern and secure digital infrastructure and to address territorial disparities related to broadband access.

Investment C7.I1 "Large-scale deployment of digital infrastructure on the territory of Bulgaria" under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) has been developed in accordance with Article 52d of Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty (General Block Exemption Regulation).

The planned intervention for the large-scale deployment of digital infrastructure defines two strategic objectives.

Strategic Objective 1: Comprehensive improvement of the Unified Electronic Communications Network (UECN)

This objective focuses on supporting the substantial modernization and expansion of the Unified Electronic Communications Network (UECN) of the state administration. The measure includes providing optical connectivity to 140 municipal centers. Optical capacity can be ensured through the construction of new infrastructure or the reuse of existing infrastructure, for which purpose an Indefeasible right of use (IRU) of infrastructure and/or dark fiber will be established.

In an additional 45 locations, existing networks will be modernized and/or maintained, including through the replacement of passive elements, in order to establish access points that are part of the state network. These will be located in municipal centers and connected to aggregation sites via links of either 2×40 Gbps or 2×100 Gbps.

Strategic Objective 2: Bridging the "digital divide" by supporting the deployment of Very High Capacity Networks (VHCNs) in mainly sparsely populated and rural areas.

The second strategic objective aims to mitigate the "digital divide" by encouraging the deployment of Very High Capacity Networks (VHCNs) in remote, sparsely populated, and rural areas. The initiative targets regions particularly affected by infrastructural deficits caused by market failures.

Special attention will be given to areas lacking reliable regional or local optical connectivity, which is essential for transmitting data to key nodes in regional and municipal cities. The goal is to enable an additional 350,000 people to access services based on VHCNs, provided through technology-neutral infrastructure/networks. At least 50% of the settlements covered by this measure will be located in remote, rural, and sparsely populated areas where there is no market-driven interest in building VHCNs.

The measure will be funded in accordance with Commission Regulation (EU) No 651/2014 of 17 June 2014, declaring certain categories of aid compatible with the internal market in application of Articles 107 and 108 of the Treaty — General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER). The document below (only in Bulgarian) sets out in detail the compliance of the investment with Article 52d – Aid for backhaul networks of Regulation (EU) No 651/2014.