Balkans Digital Gateway Study

closed

In the last years, the Balkans is becoming Europe's new digital spot but, on the other hand, the existing networks in the region are technologically outdated, highly dependent on third countries’ equipment. This creates a systemic security risk, with insufficient capacity and highly inflated prices because of the dominant position of some of the operators. The main purpose of the study is to survey the opportunities, costs, assessment of the impact and feasibility analysis, audit of the existing infrastructure and technical and overall design for the deployment of a Balkan digital gateway with high capacity and redundancy, connecting Athens, Sofia, Skopje and Bucharest in a single network, covering part of the transport core network corridor “Orient/East- Mediterranean” and providing cross-border connectivity (including, without crossing the borders of third countries, check points on the Bulgaria-Türkiye border, the Greece-Türkiye border, the Romania-Moldova border and the Romania-Ukraine border). Additionally, it aims at providing digital connectivity to the existing and future submarine cables in the Black Sea as well as to the island of Crete. It will thus be essential to define certain measures and actions for expanding the data communication capacity between Crete, Athens and key locations in Central, Eastern and Northern Europe, so as to accommodate the increased data traffic expected when the new submarine fiber optic cable routes will be connected to the island of Crete, linking four of the Balkan capitals – Sofia, Athens, Skopje and Bucharest – into a single data hub. The goal is to create a system that offers high data communication capacity, including overlong distances, with low time delay and high availability and security. The ultimate objective is to prepare a strategy to improve access to backbone connectivity in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and North Macedonia, reduce prices for network operators and users by increasing the supply of services, including through submarine cables in the Black Sea, improve connectivity to internet exchange points and boost digital capacity.