In Romania, there are 1,476 settlements where people do not have access to any high-speed fixed Internet (at least 100 Mbit/s download speed), according to the official data available at the moment, and the state is currently verifying this information in order to start investing with funds in the amount of EUR 94 million from PNRR.

The Communications Regulatory Authority (ANCOM) was recently launched. public consultation check at the local level the available information regarding the coverage of the territory of Romania by public fixed Internet networks.

Reason? One of the goals set by Romania in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) is to ensure access to at least one fixed ultra-fast broadband network (over 100 Mbps download speed) for all end-users.

To this end, Romania has been allocated €94 million through the PNRR to implement a scheme to support residents, especially in white areas (without internet networks).

What the state knows: almost 1.5 thousand settlements do not have fixed Internet

At HotNews.ro’s request, ANCOM reported that according to data received and subject to public discussion during this period, there are 2,040 settlements in Romania that are not covered or covered by networks that allow download speeds of less than 100 Mbit/s, namely :

• 102 localities where individual end-users have access only to fixed-speed broadband networks (upload speeds from 30 Mbps to 100 Mbps);
• 462 localities where individual end-users have access only to fixed basic broadband networks (upload speeds from 2 Mbps to 30 Mbps);
• 1,476 settlements where individual end-users do not have access to any fixed public broadband electronic communications network.

“The list of these settlements may be changed based on the results of a public discussion, in which any person who has relevant information and notices inaccuracies in the data presented is invited to provide information,” ANCOM representatives told HotNews.ro.

More than 8,300 settlements have Internet with a speed of more than 100 Mbit/s

The authority also notes that this public discussion does not refer to the list of settlements where there are fixed high-speed broadband networks (download speed over 100 Mbit/s).

• “At the level of July 2022, the number of such settlements identified at the level of Romania thanks to the steps taken by ANCOM was 8,387 settlements.
• According to our estimates, their number has meanwhile changed in the sense of increase.” HotNews.ro said about it, vice-president of ANCOM, Eduard Lovin.

Thus, the authority has placed a document for consultation with 2040 localities where there are open networks or covered by Internet networks at a speed below 100 Mbit/s, and invites all persons (providers of public electronic communication networks, other business entities, central state authorities or local, natural persons, etc.), who have relevant information and find inconsistency of the information presented in the lists with the existing reality, update the table and send it by e-mail to the authority.

The data must be submitted no later than the date March 24, 2023end date of public consultations.

Investment of 94 million euros from the PNRR: which settlements will have absolute priority

An investment of €94 million from PNRR funds provides coverage of high-speed fixed Internet access services in approximately 945 settlements (villages, including disadvantaged residential areas such as urban or rural border areas not covered by data services or informal settlements) in which, according to ANCOM, the market cannot provide such services on its own within 80 million euros at national level.

Two priority investment measures have been identified:

• 1. Absolute priority they will have all-white rural areas that are not served by fixed networks but have hidden demand and/or socio-economic incentives (school, daycare, clinic, government agency, etc.).

It mainly refers to small rural settlements (min. 50 inhabitants/20 households), in special geographical conditions (for example, remote rural, enclave, atypical geography, etc.).

The presence of socio-economic factors in these settlements, which are not served by the Internet, is a great loss of social well-being/for the development prospects of the respective community, as well as reasonable indications of the relevance and permanence of the demand for high-speed Internet. We estimate at least 200-250 such places.

• 2. The main priority according to ANCOM and based on reasonable investment commitments from operators, rural areas will be underserved by fixed networks where speeds cannot be improved due to market forces. We estimate a minimum of 540-590 such settlements.

Localities that have solid plans to develop a fixed high-speed network within the next 3 years will not be eligible for funding.

In the PNRR, the authorities note that “the success of the implementation of the project of state aid to improve the level of communication depends very much on the involvement of the local government, which knows the needs of the community and is able to eliminate certain administrative barriers.

In this way, localities eligible for public funding will be established in the order of requests received from local authorities, which undertake to issue, easily and quickly, the necessary building permits and charge reduced or even zero tariffs for access to all operators of electronic communications, which is the state property of the corresponding administrative-territorial unit”.

This investment must be completed in the last quarter of 2025in accordance with the commitments made in the PNRR.

• SEE DETAILS IN PNRR – DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

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