Romania’s Ministry of Communications and Information Society has announced plans to connect 150,000 households in 698 isolated areas to the country’s fibre-optic network, enabling operators to offer consumers and businesses high-speed internet, television and telephony services.
Ziarul Financiar reports that the EUR90 million (USD100.4 million) three-year ‘Next Generation Networks’ project will be funded by the EU. A total of 18 financing contracts worth EUR60 million have already been signed, while a further six contracts worth EUR30 million are in the pipeline and three others will be signed in the near future.
Communications Minister Alexandru Petrescu also revealed that he has ‘unlocked’ the use of a section of the Ro-Net network in 110 localities in the Moldavia region. Ro-Net, a major communications infrastructure network built by Telekom Romania to connect isolated areas, has been subject to a series of delays since its launch in 2014. Less than 40% of rural areas in Romania are currently covered by fibre-optic networks.