Broadband internet access available soon in Brod-Posavina county

17.11.2022

Milan Meden and Danijel Marušić

Hrvatski Telekom, the leader of Croatia's digitalization, has started building fiber optic infrastructure in the Brod-Posavina County, which will provide 7,654 "white" addresses in the municipalities of Donji Andrijevci, Garčin, Gornja Vrba, Gundinci, Klakar, Oprisavci, Sikirevci, Slavonski Šamac, Velika Kopanica, and Vrpolje with fast (+40 Mbit/s) and ultra-fast (+100 Mbit/s symmetrical) broadband internet access.

It is one of 13 projects under which Hrvatski Telekom 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 in accordance with the structural rules of the Framework National Program for the Development of Broadband Access Infrastructure in areas where there is low commercial interest for investment. The total value of the fiber infrastructure construction project in municipalities of Donji Andrijevci, Garčin, Gornja Vrba, Gundinci, Klakar, Oprisavci, Sikirevci, Slavonski Šamac, Velika Kopanica, and Vrpolje is more than HRK 47 million. Hrvatski Telekom will invest more than HRK 29 million in this project, while the remaining amount, almost HRK 18 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-speed and internet availability will contribute to the further development of entrepreneurship and the economy.

"Hrvatski Telekom, the largest private investor in the digitalization of Croatia, with average annual investments of more than one and a half billion kunas, continuously works to increase the availability of its services and connects everyone in Croatia with the opportunities offered by digitalization. By investing in this project, we provide residents of the municipalities of Donji Andrijevci, Garčin, Gornja Vrba, Gundinci, Klakar, Oprisavci, Sikirevci, Slavonski Šamac, Velika Kopanica, and Vrpolje 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.

The Next Generation Access - NGA network that Hrvatski Telekom 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.

"In addition to increasing the speed and availability of the internet, this project aims at improving digital services locally and increasing the national coverage of next-generation access networks (NGA) until 2023. Based on the Agreement from April 2019 and the addendum to the Agreement from February 2020 between the Municipality and the County, the County received the authority of the project holder. Considering the financial capacities of municipalities and the county, Investment model A was chosen, in which responsibility for the design, construction, and operation of the network is assumed by the operator, and the network remains the property of that operator. As the project holder, the county prepared application documentation and took actions within the framework of the Public Call for Expressions of Interest to participate in the pre-selection process - construction of access networks in NGA white areas. Through three public calls in March 2020, the operator Hrvatski Telekom d.d. was selected and the Grant Agreement was signed, with which the County is a Project Partner based on the Agreement. We thank Hrvatski Telekom d.d. for expressing interest and investing their funds. We also thank the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds for the secured co-financing of the Project for the progress of our Municipalities, the County, and the Republic of Croatia," said Danijel Marušić, Prefect of Brod-Posavina County.

The fact that Hrvatski Telekom was selected for these projects is proof that the company is recognized as a reliable technological partner and the best contractor to realize such demanding projects. 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 to create a better future. Hrvatski Telekom remains committed to its investment plans because investments in the infrastructure we are building are key to a new cycle of economic growth and broader societal development, and the digitalization of all parts of Croatia is a fundamental part of Hrvatski Telekom's social purpose.

^{*Residents from the area covered by the Project interested in having a connection on their building can contact the e-mail address [email protected]}

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