As Poslovni Dnevnik/Lucija Spiljak writes on the 26th of November, 2020, the Croatian Government has launched a public consultation on the National Plan for the Development of Broadband Access in the Republic of Croatia in the Period from 2021 to 2027, which imposes itself as the main precondition for the development of very high capacity networks (VHCN), even in the most rural areas of the country. Is a truly Digital Croatia closer than ever?
The plan follows not only the domestic plans for a more digital Croatia, but the wider strategic goals of the European Union's broadband approach as formally defined by the European Gigabit Society 2025 communication.
The objectives of the National Plan are, among other things, the introduction of very high capacity networks in Croatian households (at least 100 Mbit / s, with the possibility of upgrading to speeds up to 1 Gbit / s), the introduction of very high capacity networks for public purposes (at least 1 Gbit / s symmetrically), the introduction of 5G networks in urban areas and along the country's main traffic routes, and the introduction of 5G networks in rural areas.
The Croatian Network Regulatory Agency (Hakom) is already participating in preparations for the implementation of 5G networks, and will participate, as they say, in other implementation activities in accordance with the Plan, because they are making great efforts to meet the goals of the European Commission's 5G Action Plan which involves providing commercial 5G service in at least one major city across all EU member states in 2020, 5G network coverage in all urban areas and along all major land transport routes by 2025.
''The plan is to encourage investment in infrastructure and construction of 5G networks in rural areas and across all areas in generally, including those currently less covered by broadband access, in order to provide customers with a certain quality of service. To inform the public, Hakom has published a special section dedicated exclusively to 5G technology on its website, it talks about about what 5G is, its technical characteristics and its possible uses. EU and national strategies are presented there, while the section on electromagnetic fields explains the relevant regulations and the role of Hakom in the control of electromagnetic fields.
"Data on locations where base stations are set up for the purpose of testing the functionality of 5G technology is published and regularly updated," they state.
According to the Index of Economic and Social Digitisation for 2020 (DESI), Croatia is 25th out of 28 members in the Connectivity category, as it was back in 2019, and looking at all of the DESI categories in total, Croatia is in 20th place this year. In Connectivity, which concerns broadband internet, there are several benchmarks, and Hakom has singled out two in which they expect a significant boost - readiness for 5G in which Croatia is performing badly because the allocated spectrum for 5G is still being measured as a result of the ongoing crisis, although Croatian operators themselves are ready for 5G and even offer this service commercially.
The second measure is Croatian households with an Internet subscription of at least 100Mbit / s.
"Although the availability of the Internet above 30Mbit / s and 100Mbit / s is average compared to all other EU member states, in Croatia, households have only recently been wanting very high speeds and changing their previous packages, and there is a higher percentage of the population who don't use the Internet at all." they explain.
With the moving forward of Digital Croatia with the digitalisation of public administration, e-health, education and other things, in the coming years, Hakom says that the widespread introduction and application of new concepts and applications in the economy, such as Industry 4.0 Big Data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cities will occur.
“The crisis caused by the pandemic has confirmed the importance of universal access to very large capacity networks that are at the same time reliable, secure and accessible to all at affordable prices. The digital divide between urban and rural areas and people of a different socio-economic status has become particularly visible. We think that in the post-covid era there will be an accelerated digital transformation of society as a whole, which will require an adequate digital infrastructure in terms of data transfer speeds, resilience and the reliability of connections,'' they conclude.
Croatian Telecom/HT, which launched its 5G network less than a month ago, briefly commented that they support all measures that simplify and reduce the cost of building fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure and enable the maximum use of EU funds, because without broadband infrastructure there can be no real Digital Croatia.
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