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Telecom.IT: 783 Romanian localities to connect to the Internet by the end of 2015
The distribution network that will connect 783 Romanian localities to the Internet by the end of 2015 will have a length of about 4,900 kilometers, the Ministry for Information Society (MSI) announced in a release on Thursday.
The broadband Internet connection of the 783 localities will be implemented under the project titled "Ro-NET: Building a national broadband infrastructure in disadvantaged areas through the use of structural funds" where the MSI is an applicant - beneficiary as of December 18, 2014.
The project worth a total of 377,838,279.59 lei is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the non-repayable financial assistance (ERDF) amounts to 252,281,871.95 lei of this figure.
Spanning 11 months, the Ro-NET project is aimed at building a national broadband communications infrastructure to provide electronic communication services in disadvantaged rural areas, which currently do not have coverage for high speed Internet services.
The Ro-NET project will cover 783 of the 2,268 localities identified by a feasibility study as "blank areas" with market failure, where operators had no plans to invest.
According to the cited source, the project will help reduce the digital divide between urban and rural areas, getting broadband Internet closer to approximately 130,000 households with about 400,000 inhabitants, about 8,500 companies and 2,800 public institutions. The new distribution network will have about 4,843 km.
"By expanding the broadband network, we promote economic growth in the localities covered by the project. We cannot talk of reducing the digital divide between urban and rural areas, about digital literacy, better penetration of e-government services otherwise but in close connection with the development of the Ro-NET broadband project. It is a top important project of the Ministry for the Information Society and also a priority of the European Commission, which approved the project at the end of last year," said Minister for Information Society Sorin Grindeanu.
Telekom Communications and Mobile Telekom, the two operators designed to implement the project following the tender organized by MSI, will finalize the implementation of the backhaul infrastructure within the eligible period of the funding program ending on December 31, 2015.
Under the contract, MSI leased out to the winning companies the right to use the built infrastructure for a period of 18 years. During this time, the two companies will also ensure the operation and maintenance of the infrastructure.
The infrastructure will remain under public ownership and will be available for wholesale access for any operator wishing to provide broadband Internet services to end users.
In early November 2014, the European Commission approved a financial contribution of about 85.6 million euros for the Ro-NET project that will provide with broadband Internet 783 localities identified as 'blank areas'.