Balkan digital gateway strengthens regional digital connectivity with €24m investment

Vestitel is leading a €24 million push to tighten digital links across Southeast Europe through the Balkan Digital Gateway project. The plan combines 600km of new telecoms routes between Burgas/Aheloy and Alexandroupoli–Serres–Orestiada, a 400km upgrade of the Sofia–Thessaloniki corridor, and a 5,600km Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) system tying together Bucharest, Sofia, Athens and Skopje, as well as Black Sea and Aegean coastal areas.

The build-out targets a long-standing gap in regional backbone infrastructure. It is designed to reinforce Black Sea submarine cable systems, add capacity on north–south and east–west data corridors across Europe, and cut reliance on third-country equipment and routes. Backed by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility Digital programme, the project aims to improve access to high-capacity networks in Bulgaria, Greece, Romania and North Macedonia, sharpen competition, and lower prices for operators and end users, while positioning the Balkans as a more central node in Europe’s digital network.