Fiber Optic Access Continues to Spread in Croatia

Hrvatski Telekom has started building fiber optic infrastructure in the Town of Sveta Nedelja, the Town of Samobor, and the municipality of Stupnik. This will provide 13,643 "white" addresses in this area with fast (+40 Mbit/s) and ultra-fast (+100 Mbit/s symmetrical) broadband internet access. It is one of 13 projects under which HT will build a fiber optic network that provides speeds of at least 100 Mbit/s by the end of 2023 for almost 150 thousand new users in cities, municipalities, suburban, and rural parts of Croatia.

The project is implemented following the structural rules of the Framework National Program for the Development of Broadband Access Infrastructure in areas where there is insufficient commercial interest for investment. The total value of the fiber infrastructure construction project in Sveta Nedelja, Samobor, and Stupnik is more than HRK 76 million.

Hrvatski Telekom will invest more than HRK 43 million in this project. The remaining amount, more than HRK 32 million, will be co-financed by the European Union from the European Fund for Regional Development within the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion. This project will improve the use of digital services such as e-Citizens, e-schools, e-health, and high-speeds and internet availability will contribute to the further development of entrepreneurship and the economy.

"By investing in this project, we provide residents of Sveta Nedelja, Samobor, and Stupnik with fast and high-quality internet access, which will ultimately increase the quality of life of the local population. The economic effects of this investment cycle are extremely significant since the increase in internet speed in local government units in Croatia leads to the establishment of new companies, the creation of new jobs, and an increase in the efficiency of public and private services", said Milan Meden, Director of the Access Network Implementation and Operations Sector at Hrvatski Telekom.

The Next Generation Access - NGA network that HT will build as part of this project will be open, which means that all other operators and electronic communications service providers will have open access to the networks and, just like HT, will be able to offer their retail broadband services to end users in the area which the project includes. As part of this project, the next-generation network will come to parts of the country where it does not exist, thus enabling all residents in those areas to use modern technology.