CETIN Bulgaria will build the Bulgarian part of the Bulgaria-Serbia transport corridor

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CETIN Bulgaria has announced the launch of the 5G Balkans project, which aims to improve optical connectivity along the cross-border transport corridor Bulgaria-Serbia (part of the Orient/East-Med TEN-T corridor) by providing conditions for 5G service for CAM (Connected and Automated Mobility ).

A media release said the project will contribute to the development of innovative technologies as well as advanced solutions to improve mobility and connectivity in the area, including meeting mandatory requirements related to self-driving cars.

The financing of the 5G Balkans project is under the Connecting Europe Facility of the European Union under a grant agreement, and implementation is planned to take place between January 2024 and December 2026.

By the same mechanism, the competitor A1 Bulgaria is working on the 5G Seagul project for connectivity on the Sofia-Athens highway.

More than BGN 13 million is the approximate value of the project announced by CETIN and Yettel. Half of them come from the European Union program, and the rest are from the main beneficiaries in the 5G Balkans. More specifically, these are CETIN Bulgaria, CETIN in Serbia, Technical University in Sofia, and Yettel Bulgaria and Yettel in Serbia are associated partners. CETIN and Yettel are part of the Czech Republic-based PPF Telecom Group.

Within the framework of the CETIN project, Bulgaria will upgrade the existing section of its optical route in Sofia and build about 100 km of high-speed fixed connectivity from Sofia to Kalotina.

For its part, CETIN in Serbia will work on the Kalotina-Dimitrovgrad section in the neighboring country. It will connect established base stations to its high-speed optical network.

The work of the Technical University in Sofia will be to carry out independent measurements and analyzes along the built and upgraded route. It will also check for potential interference in a frequency range that is intended for future road safety applications.