Romanian Communications Ministry wants telecom regulator to set up state aid scheme

Romania’s Communications Ministry wants to allot RON 500 million (EUR 107 million) from the telecom regulator – ANCOM’s surplus to projects for developing communications in Romania, local Profit.ro reported. At the end of 2017, ANCOM had a surplus of over RON 1 billion (EUR 215 million), according to its annual report. The ministry wants ANCOM to set up a state aid scheme or a grant scheme that would be carried out between January 2019 and December 2023. The financed projects could target granting access to communications to people in remote areas or developing smart city projects. According to an ANCOM study, over 3,000 villages in Romania did not have fixed internet networks that allow data transfer speeds of over 30 Mbps. Some one million people living in these villages are in a “digital exclusion” area, according to the Communications Ministry. editor@romania-insider.com