The Bulgarian telecommunications operator Neterra started the exploitation of its biggest project so far - the Balkan Fiber Optic Ring (BFOR). The launch marks two years of successful strategic planning, construction and implementation.
BFOR is a communications infrastructure project connecting Europe with the developing markets of the Middle East and Asia through Bulgaria. The project's goal is to create a centrally-managed telecommunications network on the territory of Bulgaria and the neighboring countries.
The network provides highly reliable services to world telecoms buying transit capacities through the Balkans. Service is carried via high-capacity terrestrial lines from Frankfurt to the Bulgarian borders with Turkey and Greece.
BFOR is part of the existing Neterra network with 25 points of presence worldwide. Two hundred kilometers of the network contain optical fiber laid in Neterra's own HDPE ducts and trenches. The scheduled activities will increase the number of points-of-presence to 35 and the length of own network fiber to 400km by March 2007.
The current capacity of the BFOR is STM-256 (40GBps) with a planned increase of up to 96x10Gbps by the end of 2007.
The total investment for the completion of the BFOR project will reach EUR 80 million. At the current stage of development its value amounts to EUR13.00 million.