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BULGARIA - България

  • Legal basis for the work of the National Radio Frequency Spectrum Council (CNRFS) is the Law on Telecommunications, published in issue 88 of the State Gazette (7 October 2003), amended in March 2005. The link here is to the official English translation.
  • National Frequency Plan updated to 2006 (in English - 274kb, PDF).
  • English translation of "Regulation No. 14 dated 27.07.2004 on the Terms and Conditions for Performance of Telecommunications by means of Radio Devices and Networks of Radio Devices for Own Needs by Using the Radio Frequency Range for Common Use," (published in the State Gazette, issue 72/2004, 17 August 2004). This covers short-range devices, cordless phones, CB radios, PMR 446, some DECT equipment and satellite terminals, etc. Includes a table of frequency bands, output limits, channelization plans and device types.
  • "Resolution of the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) No 717 (12.02.2004) for determination of the radio frequency spectrum for common use" - the original text in Bulgarian is on page 29 of this document; amended and supplemented by Resolution No 255 / 10.02.2005 and General License No 220, for mobile telecommunication services offered through public RLANs - in Bulgarian and English. This seems to anticipate a problem of mobile phone operators potentially "crowding out" ordinary citizens who use WiFi as UMA and GSM/WiFi convergence expands.
  • "OpenAir - проект за свободен WiFi достъп до интернет" IDG.bg, 20 July 2006 - article about a project to organize WiFi nodes in Sofia into a free community net. Called OpenAir, the project was launched in June 2006 by Delyan Tashev. The project website catalogues the existing open-access WiFi nodes in Sofia and already has about 500 listed.
  • IDG's Bulgarian ICT Market Weekly Review of 26 November 2004 quotes an article in newspaper Sega to the effect that the Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) signed an agreement with Italy's telecom regulator aimed at helping CRC harmonize Bulgaria's communications laws with European Union directives by 2007.
  • "Bulgarian telecoms regulator CRC is currently laying down the foundations for the country's new Telecoms Act, which will be introduced in 2006, according to Pari Daily. The new legislation aims to establish new standards for data services, transfer and protection. It will also establish a legal framework for the introduction of new electronic services. Alternative operators will welcome the legislation, as it will allow them access to the infrastructure of the former monopoly BTC. The incumbent still controls about 90% of the country's fixed-line market. The new Telecoms Act 2006 is expected to boost competition in the fixed-line and broadband sectors, and set the framework for the digital revolution." ---INA Southeast Europe ICT Weekly Update, 14 October 2005.
  • "Bulgarian Railways go wireless, plan to become profitable" Novinite, 18 June 2010: "Free wireless will be provided at the five busiest train stations in Bulgaria, the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications announced... 'This is the first step towards the modernization of the railway. The second would be to provide free wireless in the trains,' Minister Tsvetkov said, adding that by the end of the year, free access will be provided in 15 more train stations in Bulgaria..."
  • "Bulgaria will be the first country in Europe to start implementation of the modern radio-identification technology (RFID) [for customs and border control]. It will happen with a pilot project for implementation of 'smart labels' in Kalotina Customs..." ---Bulgarian ICT Market Weekly Review, IDG, 18 March 2005
  • "EC action against Bulgaria on hearing aid frequencies," Sofia Echo in English, 28 January 2010: "The European Commission (EC) said on January 28 2010 that it had started legal action against Bulgaria and called on it to make sure the technical requirements are in place for hearing aids, social alarms and emergency buttons at home, for old and disabled people. Bulgaria has not followed EU rules saying the 169 MHz frequency band should be made available to applications of social value and electronic services such as asset tracking and paging systems, the EC said... The current Bulgarian Radio Frequency Plan, last modified in 2006, allocates the 169.4-169.8125 MHz frequency band to radio services which are restricted for the purpose of national security and defence. According to EU rules, 169 MHz band can be used not only for legacy paging systems, but also for hearing aids, social alarms, asset tracking or tracing systems and meter reading systems.
  • "Bluetooth standard for wireless communication and possibilities for its implementation in medicine," Bulgarian Academy of Sciences News, March 2005, pages 2-3 in English. Reports the BAS' development of an experimental device for wireless real-time monitoring of heart disease patients' hearts.
  • "Wireless net strides mountains," BBC News, 4 October 2001: "US Peace Corps Volunteer Christien Beeuwkes writes of his experience of bringing the wireless internet to the small, isolated Bulgarian mountain town of Luki. 'There is a proverb in Bulgaria, "zgovorna druzhina planina povdiga", roughly translatable as unity moves mountains. An example of this is about to happen in Bulgaria's central Rhodope mountains. With the combined efforts and resources of Luki's businesses, school, and municipality, a Peace Corps grant and friends and family in the US, we are installing wireless equipment and raising a radio tower to complete an internet link over the mountaintops..."
  • "Telecommunications Sector Policy," Ministry of Transport and Communications, May 2002 (50 pages, in English).
  • "Spotlight on Republic of Bulgaria" by Todov Dragostinov, in the NTIA Spectrum Newsletter, fall 2001 (in English).
  • Медийно право - Ms. Neli Ognyanova's "Media Law" blog (in Bulgarian).

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