1. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 1 BULGARIAN ICT POLICIES: FOCUS ON NGN AND R & D FOR ACCELLERATION OF THE INFORMATION SOCIETY SEEERA-EI Kick-off meeting, April 10 th, 2009, Athens Margarita Nikolova Director Innovations and Project Management Directorate m.nikolova@daits.government.bg

2. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 2 State Agency for Information Technology and Communications at the Council of Ministers www.daits.government.bg

3. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 3 SAITC – the executive governmental body responsible for conducting state policy on electronic communications and media: pursues the state policy in the fields of Information Society and Communications: information technologies and electronic communications development for better e-Infrastructure and broadband penetration; defines the state policy for Information Society development at legislative, technological, economical and social levels and outlines the basic related activities sustained development of the national postal sector, providing high-level postal services at affordable prices in line with the world and European requirements.

4. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 4 Information Society Priorities in Bulgaria: The basic priorities that should be achieved in the process of accelerated development of the Information Society in Bulgaria are: ICT infrastructure development and e-services penetration; Broadband penetration all over the country Effective information environment and interoperability standards; Research and Innovation infrastructure development; Encouraging public-private partnerships for investment in ICT infrastructure and innovation; Providing a full range of e-services for economic and social challenges; Promoting e-Inclusion.

5. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 5 International activities of SAITC: The SAITC is a member of the International Telecommunications Union, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations, NATO Civil Communications, Planning Committee (CCPC) in EAPC/PfP (Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council/Partnership for Peace) format, EUTELSAT IGO., INTERSPUTNIK, ITSO and IMSO; Development of documents on the formation and implementation of international policies in the fields of ICT and communications; Participation in the work of the European Commission Committees especially in Communications Committee and the Radio Spectrum Committee, GMES; Coordination of the intergovernmental activities with the Council of Europe in the field of media and new communication services.

6. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 6  Law on Electronic Communications  Law on Electronic Governance (into force since June 1, 2008)  Electronic Trade Law (adopted by the NA in 2006)  Law on Electronic Document and Electronic Signature (2001)  Law on Spatial Data (public evaluation phase)  Ordinance of the rules and conditions on Information security and Interoperability (Nov. 2008) National Regulatory Framework

7. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 7 Bulgarian Strategic Documents 2007 - 2013 National Programme for Reforms (2007-2009) National Development Plan National Strategic Reference Framework (2007-2013) State Policy on Accelerated IS development (2007-2010) National Program on Accelerated IS development (2008-2010) National Broadband Program (2009 – public evaluation) ICT

8. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 8 European Information Society Policy Inclusive Information Society Innovation and Investment Information Space i2010 priorities Goals to create an open and competitive single market for information society and media services within the EU to increase EU investment in research on ICT by 80% to promote an inclusive European Information Society Making better use of ICT opportunities in order to create new business models and new types of jobs for better productivity performance and higher economic growth

9. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 9 National Program for Accelerated Information Society Development ICT networking and affordability Quality of life and competitiveness Human capital Information Society for all Impact ICT Infrastructure and Security Society and Culture Economy and Employment Research & Technological Development Branding of ICT sector Education and Training Directions

10. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 10 National program for accelerated IS development and GRID focus Coordinated approach – GEANT NW, high performance distributed clusters – GRIDS and test beds Knowledge-based economy objective: R&D&I development in ICT for eHealth, Education, Business, eGovernment, scientific research and development Access to GRID resources = optimized scientific and innovation potential of users + equal participation in EU scientific and educational initiatives

11. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 11 Some indicators of the Program, referred to R & D in ICT and GRID Share of scientific research in the GDP Expenditure for scientific R & D Investments in ICT sector Secured national financing for R & D & I No. of engaged in ICT R & D No. of users with access to GRID resources No. of users facilitating GRID infrastructure

12. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 12 National Broadband Program Aim for its development: for sustainable solution of the fact that the broadband penetration rate in BG (11.2 % 01.2009, 7,6 % 01.08) is still far bellow the EU-27 average (22,9 % 01.2008), remaining one of the lowest in the EU (source: EC report of March 2009) Milestones: Creation of new broadband infrastructure including backhaul facilities (e.g. fixed, terrestrial wireless, satellite-based, or combination of technologies) ; Upgrade of existing broadband infrastructure (e.g. increased reliability, speed, capacity, reach, better quality of service, etc.); Laying down passive broadband infrastructure (eg: civil engineering works such as ducts, and other network elements such as dark fibre etc), also in synergy with other infrastructures (energy, transport, water, sewerage networks, etc). New!

13. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 13 Vision: Up to 2013 г. to ensure all Bulgarian citizens to have broadband access Aim: Maximum coverage, reliable connectivity, high speed and reasonable prices for the end users - Social and business environment impact - Technological impact: connectivity, networks, infrastructure Principles: - Focus on citizens - Equality - Coordination and cooperation - Market based investments - Sustainable development - Following the EC policies, initiatives and principles

14. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 14 e-Government is: ICT + organisational change + new skills in public administrations, in order to improve public services and democratic processes and strengthen support to public policies

15. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 15 e-Governance challenges Insufficient and improper use of ICT Lack of secure and interoperable Infrastructure Lack of teamwork at the institutional and national level As for creating of real e-governance is necessary to involve all the state institutions

16. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 16 4 steps to meet the challenge 1.To develop ICT infrastructure for wide public access to electronic services 2.To build an effective information environment and to ensure the information security 3.To upgrade the IT skills of the public officials and citizens 4.To provide integrated electronic services meeting the needs of citizens and businesses

17. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 17 SAITC Programs 2009 - 2011 Services of the Information society Security of backbone and information Interoperability of public Information Systems Further development of governmental backbone Technology transfer (supercomputing + GRID) Spatial data infrastructure and services (acc. to INSPIRE Directive)

18. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 18 To develop ICT infrastructure for wide public access to electronic services Providing computer equipment and Internet access throughout the country Providing Internet and computer equipment in the schools Development of the National Electronic Communication Network in order to connect the central and local authorities 1

19. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 19 Delivery of over 3,500 computers, servers mainly to the regional and local administrations: Licensed software for 60 000 computers and 2000 server systems in all administrations Antivirus/spam/adware protection software 20 000 computers and 1500 server systems in the local and regional administrations Delivery of 2,150 e-signatures Technical Equipment for the State Administration (2006-2007)

20. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 20 Bulgarian National Research and Educational Network  It is the Bulgarian NREN, incorporating and integrating the networks of all institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, 22 Universities and interconnecting about 2600 Bulgarian schools to the Pan- European research and education resources trough GEANT  2119 schools already have their computer labs connected to the network  SAITC supports BREN’s membership in TRENA and RIPE  IPv6 Lab opened for public scientific access April 2008 New!

21. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 21  Building a high-speed fiber-optic ring with an initial transmission capacity of about 2.5 Gbps and with an option for further increase up to 10 Gbps  Connecting 27 regional centers and the capital within the fiber-optic ring by end-2009  Providing national connectivity and integration of the National Electronic Communication Network with the other networks of the state institutions after 2009  Infrastructure development for 112 emergency calls (2008) Development of ICT infrastructure for wide public access to electronic services

22. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 22 Innovation ICT projects, supported by SAITC:  National Network of virtual libraries – 46 university libraries interconnected as one-stop shop virtual library of common access  Bulgarian Virtual University (infrastructure projects i-Net, i- zone integration)  SAITC as one of the founders of BREN supports the Bulgarian NREN’s ICT R & D projects portfolio for interconnectivity and joint research networking of all institutes of BAS and 22 BG universities in Europe – GEANT2/GEANT3, SEEREN2, SEEGRID, SEE Light  National Grid Center - equipment and SW for further development of the grid center in IPP-BAS, 2008  SEERA-EI – national GRID policies development (2009)  Supercomputer center was opened Sept. 9 th, 2008 New!

23. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 23 BG SUPERCOPMUTER CENTER FIGGURES √ IBM Blue Gene/P, 2 racks, 2048 PowerPC450 processors (32 bits, 850 MHz), a total of 8192 cores √ Double-precision, dual pipe floating-point acceleration on each core √ A total of 4TB random access memory √ 16 more I/O nodes currently connected via fiber optics to 10 Gb/s Ethernet switch √ 16 more I/O nodes ready to be connected further √ Max LINPACK performance achieved: Rmax = 23.42 Tflops √ 127 th rank in the 32 nd edition of the world’s TOP500 supercomputers list (Nov. 17, 2008) New!

24. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 24 To build an effective information environment and to ensure the information security Development of a meta-information system ensuring an information environment for integrated administrative services Development of register of the interoperability standards Development of the technical secure infrastructure and applications Provision of the security of the critical applications and of each individual computer 2

25. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 25 Establishment of National Center of Competence for Interoperability and Information Security Register of Standards Register of Certified Systems govCERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) + BREN CERT List of Accredited entities GIS-spatial data interoperability (eGOV 2008/9 – INSPIRE Directive) New!

26. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 26 To upgrade the IT skills of the public officials and citizens Educational programs for the employees in the state administration Educational programs for teachers and administrators in the schools National program for computer literacy 3

27. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 27  Extension of the National Network of Public Internet Access Points to all (264) municipalities by the end of 2010  Provision of access to the Internet and e-government services for the majority of Bulgarian citizens (especially those in less developed areas)  Raising qualification and education level through various forms of distance learning and online courses  Creating new job and business opportunities Extension of the National Network of Public Internet Access Points (i-Center)

28. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 28 To provide integrated electronic services meeting the needs of citizens and businesses Upgrade the existing infrastructure Provide centralized access to e-services via one government portal Application of the best practices and pilot projects Expanding the services to all levels – G2C, G2B, G2G 4

29. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 29 Integrated system of the e-Government − service portal of the administration: www.egov.bgwww.egov.bg − environment for document exchange − support of the interoperability registers Pilot integrated system of e-Region − regional service portals − integration of the systems of the regional and local administrations Total investment in projects for 2006 and 2007: BGN 25 mln Backbone of the e-Government

30. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 30 Information society projects of SAITC  iCentres project – free public access to i-net to all (SAITC/UNDP - 120 + 1 mobile functioning)  i-Class – a PC-class in each Bulgarian school (SAITC)  NOVA Project – educational system for simulation of lab testing – special secondary schools (mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry etc.)  2 EU projects for SME support – ELISA & EVITA (INTERREG program)  eGOS – remote access to the e-Gov services (CIP-PSP)  Bulgarian library program for joining the GL program /US/ (MC, SAITC, UNDP, BMGF) New!

31. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 31 ICT Policy Results More effective institutions (combat corruption, modernisation (eGovernance), value for money and etc.) Higher share of ICT investment on total investment Enhanced investments in R&D activities both the whole economy and the ICT sector Successful PPP models Competitive, export-oriented ICT industry Well-developed ICT infrastructure From passive to active labour market

32. State Agency for Information Technology and Communications 32 Thank you for your attention! Margarita Nikolova, Director IPM State Agency for ICT, R Bulgaria 6, Gourko st., 1000 Sofia m.nikolova@daits.government.bg +359 889 503447, +359 888 371076