With investments of over 130 million leva over the past two years, BTC has digitalised more than 73 per cent of its fixed-line network in Bulgaria, the company announced on January 1 2008.

In 94 towns and villages in Bulgaria, all lines had been digitalised and so-called duplex lines had been removed. In addition, clients with digital lines would have access to services not available to analogue lines, including call-transfer, call-waiting and group conversations, mediapool.bg said.

"Main priority over the past two years had been a modernisation of the network, with the aim to provide better contemporary voice and broadband services," Sevdalin Stanev, director general of Exploitation and Architecture of the fixed-line network at BTC said.

During 2008, BTC planned to reach the level of digitalisation of the fixed-line network expected by the European Union, mediapool.bg said.
Contractual agreements between Bulgaria and the EU under the Telecommunication chapter include a digitalisation of around 80 per cent of the fixed-line telephone network by the end of 2008. After January 1 2009, number portability should become available under the EU agreement.