Romania identifies 3,251 villages without speeds of at least 30 Mbps

Romania's telecommunications authority Ancom said that 3,251 villages in Romania were not serviced by fixed networks at speeds of 30 Mbps or higher at 1 November 2017. These localities are also not expected to benefit from such speeds until 1 November 2020. The data was obtained from local operators following a consultation that took place at the end of 2017. The 3,251 localities have 350,870 households and a total population of around 939,000 people.

Of the 3,251 locations, 1,781 are reported to be served by a fixed-line electronic communications network that can provide connections with download speeds of at least 2 Mbps but not more than 30 Mbps, and a number of 2,418 are reported to have access to at least one 4G/LTE mobile access network.

Ancom informed operators that want to install networks in these localities that they may face competition from operators that will receive public funding of a total of EUR 65.2 million to reach the 'Digital Agenda for Romania 2020' coverage targets. During the public consultation held at the end of 2017, operators were able to indicate all localities where they plan to make private investments in fixed networks at speeds of 30 Mbps or higher by 1 November 2020.

They may submit until 20 January the observations to MCSI on all state aid documentation for infrastructure development and networks in "white areas" in all development regions of Romania, except for the development region Bucharest-Ilfov.