Neterra's Balkan Digital Gateway project has been named a finalist in the European Commission's European Digital Connectivity Awards 2026. The jury selected just nine projects from across Europe, three in each category. The winners will be announced on December 2 in Brussels.
Neterra's fiber corridor links Bulgaria, Romania, Türkiye, Greece, and Germany, spanning more countries than any other nominee in its category.
Three Networks, One Corridor
Balkan Digital Gateway brings together three Neterra infrastructure projects that operate as a single system.
The first is a set of fiber routes running beneath the Danube River. They provide a direct, secure link between Bulgaria and Romania that does not depend on the river's bridges.
The second is the Balkan Fiber Optic Ring (BFOR). The ring connects the countries of the region, and if one section is cut, traffic is rerouted along another path. Customers don't even notice the outage.
The third is Neterra's new DWDM backbone, built with Infinera equipment. Already in service, it multiplies the capacity Neterra can carry over a single fiber.
Together, the three projects turn Southeast Europe into a reliable transit route for data between Western Europe, Türkiye, and the Middle East.
Behind every kilometer lies a great deal of hard work in the field. For years, Neterra's teams and partners have worked in all conditions: in trenches, on riverbanks, and in border zones.
Among Europe's Leading Connectivity Projects
In the Cross-Border and International Connectivity category, Neterra competes against two other projects, both co-funded by the EU's Connecting Europe Facility – Digital (CEF Digital) program. Balkan Digital Gateway is the only project in the category built without EU or government funding. It was financed entirely by Neterra.
The awards are presented by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT). See the European Commission's announcement of the nominees.
"This nomination recognizes years of work by our engineers and field teams. The Danube routes, the BFOR ring, and the new DWDM network are each major projects in their own right. But their real value lies in how they work together. If one route goes down, traffic keeps flowing over another. That's exactly what our customers expect from international connectivity," said Neven Dilkov, founder and CEO of Neterra.
The Ceremony
The nominees will gather in Brussels on December 2, when the European Commission will announce the winners in all three categories and present the awards. Ahead of the ceremony, the organizers are producing a video featuring all finalists, which will include photos of Neterra's work in the field.