Hrvatski Telekom has started building fiber optic infrastructure in the towns of Rovinj and Vodnjan and the municipalities of Bale, Kanfanar, Svetvinčenat, Žminj, Medulin, Barban, Ližnjan, and Marčana. This will provide over 14,500 “white“ addresses in this area with fast (+40 Mbit/s) and ultra-fast (+100 Mbit/s symmetrical) broadband internet access.
These are two 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 projects are implemented in line with the structural rules of the Framework National Program for the Development of Broadband Access Infrastructure in areas with insufficient commercial interest for investment.
The fiber infrastructure construction project's total value in this area is over €18.1 million. HT will invest more than €11.1 million in this project. The remaining amount, around €7 million, will be co-financed by the European Union from the European Fund for Regional Development within the Operational Program Competitiveness and Cohesion.
"By investing in these projects, we provide residents 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 network that HT will build as part of these projects will be open. That 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 included in these projects.
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