ROMANIAN NATIONAL ICT POLICIES

NATIONAL ICT POLICIES and Market trends

Legislation Reform The main legislative changes expected regards the following field:  e-Signature – approved by the Gov. in discussion at Parlam.  e-Commerce – exp. to be promulgated in the 1 st part of 2007  Anti-e-fraud - exp. to be promulgated in the 1 st part of 2007 Personal protection toward personal data usage and access - in discussion at Parlam.  Personal data processing and the private life protection in the telecom field - in discussion at Parlam All of them are drafted in the respect of European Union regulations

Knowledge economy - project - In the next years, approximately 200 communities will benefit from Local Communities Electronic Networks (LCEN), as knowledge centers for offering citizens information and online services throughout Knowledge Economy Project. The project was initiated by Romanian Government, with the support of World Bank and coordinated by Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. Advanced e-business and e-government applications will be developed through the “Knowledge-Based Economy” project.

Structural funds On November 1 st 2004, the Intermediate Body for Promotion the Information Society was founded within the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, based on Government Decision no. 1179/ 2004 on the amendment of Government Decision no. 497/ 2004, regarding the institutional framework for coordination, implementation and management of structural funds The Ministry of Education and Research founded the Intermediate Body for the Operational Program “Increasing the economical competitiveness”

NATIONAL ICT POLICIES REPUBLIC OF CROATIA NATIONAL ICT POLICIES REPUBLIC OF CROATIA

Key strategic documents, R. of Croatia –Programme of Government of Croatia –Implementation Programme for e-Croatia –Science and Technology Policy Republic of Croatia The Strategy of the One-Stop-Shop Programme – HITRO.HR Open Source Software Policy National Program of Information Security for the Republic of Croatia

National ICT development policy Marieta Popova BASSCOM December 2006

Telecommunications Market Trends Teledensity – 74 % Digitalization of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company network – 47 % Licenses for 20 new operators of fixed voice service; Launch of a new service “selection of an operator” Launch of a 3G service (voice, TV and Internet)

Mobile Communications Market Mobile teledensity – 80 % (more than 6 mln. customers); 19 % increase of the mobile communications in 2005; Implementation of EDGE technology; Future launch of services under TETRA standard; New services – MVPN, video-conversations, broadband data transfer.

Internet access % Vitosha Research, 15+

Internet Dissemination

Broadband Internet in Bulgaria Service Households with access to the service Households using the service Cable Internet 20% (~ households) 4% (~ households) ADSL10% (~ households) 1% (~ households) Ethernet40%2% Source: Bulgaria Online

ICT Industry in Bulgaria Source: European IT Observatory

ICT Sector in Bulgaria (EUR M) Source: European IT Observatory

ICT Policies and Market Trends in Serbia Skopje,

National policy on ICT development from July 2006 Framework for the development of ICT sector, knowledge economy and information society Information society development, is acknowledged as key activity for wellbeing and increase in life standard of citizens. As well as the instrument for reduction of the information gap between Serbia and developed countries and bring us closer to EU membership

National policy on ICT development from Telecommunication sector development – goals Telecom services available and affordable to most Stimulate production growth, import, export and trade of telecom and inf. equipment as well as software solutions Stimulate domestic production, and prevent becoming technologically dependant of import Stimulate e-business, with emphasis on e- Government Reform of administration, shorter process of legislative business – key role of RATEL

National policy on ICT development from Strategy of sector development Harmonization with legal acts of EU Sector privatization Stimulating domestic and foreign investments in sector Development of telecom infrastructure Safety and security Regional expanding of telecom operators Education of R&D employees Stimulate national telecom industry

National policy on Information society development, July 2006 Defining initiatives, priorities and goals of IS development Institutional framework for IS development (government, PA infrastructure implementation, control) Recognizes the problem of undefined responsibility between 3 GO: Ministry of science, Republic Agency for Internet and Public procurement agency. Recommends one efficient institution. Currently none.

National policy on Information society development, cont. E-government development: –Modernization of Public Administration –Development of national economy –Engagement and participation of citizens in democratic processes E-education development: –Increase knowledge and skills on ICT usage with the majority of population –Build modern education system adjusted to the needs of IS –Encourage R&D –Enable access to information on cultural, historical and scientific heritage

National policy on Information society development, cont. E-health development: –Modernize system of health care –Take the pressure off from medical staff (doctors, nurses etc…) –Stress the importance of continuous education of medical staff with the help of ICT keeping on mind gender balance –Respect and protect privacy of medical data on citizens –Improve health care of minorities, women and children –Strengthen the ICT infrastructure for quick medical response in case of natural disaster or humanitarian catastrophe –Follow action plan for eSEE

National policy on Information society development, cont. E-Business and e-banking –Promote economic growth and social development –Improve business efficiency and productivity –Cut business costs –Facilitate integration of domestic companies into European and world market

Market trends in Serbia In 2005, National parliament passed Law on digital signatutre and e-business National Investment Plan was addopted, 40 million euros was awarded for investment in IT infrastructure Mobile operator Mobtel was sold to Norvegian Telenor for 1,5 billion euros Liscence for third mobile operator was issued for the period of 10 years

Internet penetration in Serbia Research on the whole population, BOS % of households in Serbia own a computer. Rate of PC penetration is highest in Belgrade, where it reaches 55%, while it is significantly lower in Central Serbia (38%), and Vojvodina (36%). In Serbia (excluding Kosovo) 24.2% of citizens use Internet 84% of Internet users access Internet from their homes, 24.6% from work… 77% of Internet users have dial up internet connection, which limits more serious internet usage.

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