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PRIORITIES
FOR EU FUNDING 2014 – 2020
IN ICT SECTOR
M I N I S T R Y O F E N V I R O N M E N TA L P R O T E C T I O N A N D
R E G I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T O F T H E R E P U B L I C O F L AT V I A
Strategies and policy planning documents
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Complies with the priority’s “Smart, sustainable and inclusive growth” flagship initiative “Digital
Agenda for Europe” of the strategic document Europe 2020: strategy for smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth;
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Complies with priority “Innovative government and public participation” and its long-term action
direction “E-government and Public innovation” of the Sustainable development strategy of Latvia
until 2030;
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Complies with the priority “Growth supporting areas” and its action area “Availability of services for
creating more equal opportunities for employment and living conditions” of National Development
Plan 2014-2020;
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Complies with the action area of the National Reform Program of Latvia “EU 2020” “Rebalanced
economic development, promoting development of tradable sectors and raising productivity” and its
action “Development of information and communication technologies (ICT) and implementation of
Single Market”;
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Complies with the priorities “Innovative and competitive business and research environment” and
“Modern infrastructure for growth and jobs” of the Position of the Commission Services on the
development of Partnership Agreement and programmes in Latvia for the period 2014-2020
Current situation
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Catalogue of Public services
*Including 270 e-services from current EU funding period (EUR 137,94 million)
Strategic view of ICT activities
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 Thematic objective: (2) enhancing access to and use and
quality of ICT
 Investment priority:
 (b) developing ICT products and services, e-commerce and
enhancing demand for ICT;
 (c) strengthening ICT applications for e-government, e-learning, eInclusion and e-health
Strategic view of ICT activities
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 ICT governance
 ICT Organizational Governance Model of Public Administration
(approved on 19 February 2013)
 ICT strategy
 Information Society Development Guidelines
 ICT action plans
 E-Government Development Plan (approved on 25 May 2011)
 E-Skills Development Plan (approved on 18 May 2011)
Information Society Development Guidelines 2014-2020
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Target:
Ensuring that everyone has a chance to use benefits from ICT, develop knowledge-based
economics, and improve general quality of life by giving an input in national productivity,
efficiency of public administration and competitiveness of businesses
Action areas
Wide access Modern and
to
effective
Digital skills
information
public
and literacy
society
adminisinfrastration
tructure
Cross-border
E-services co-operation Competitive ICT research
for Digital
and digital
business
and
Single
content for
environment innovations
Market
society
Trust and
security
Strategic view of ICT activities
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ICT Governance, Strategy, Policy
Development of eservices, enhancing
availability and use of
public services
Business
proceses
Technology
Open and
interoperable public
data infrastructure
People
Improvement of
e-skills
Next Generation Network and Broadband Infrastructure
Strategic view of ICT activities
Activity
Problem targeted
Objectives
Development
of e-services,
enhancing
availability
and use of
public
services
•only 21% of services are available
electronically
•overall level of usage of e-services
remains relatively low compared to
traditional service delivery methods
•to ensure the incorporation of Latvia in the European Single
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Market
•to ensure the availability of public services in the most
convenient way for different society groups, increasing the
economic benefit for a public service client by reducing the
administrative burden on society and enhancing economic
potential based on public sector information re-use
•to adapt the national services to ensure requirement of
establishing at least 5 cross-border e-services in the upcoming
years (Digital Agenda for Europe
Open and
interoperable
public data
infrastructure
•public
administration
exploits
decentralized information systems
developed in different time periods,
with no use of common IT standards,
methods and technology standards
•the lack of appropriate open data
infrastructure is an obstacle to put into
effect economic and social potential of
public administration data in order to
ensure implementation of open data
initiatives.
Improvement
of e-skills
•gap between e-service availability and
usage
•low awareness of e-government
services
•to establish open, interoperable and optimally organized
public data governance, facilitating general public’s
communication with public administration, automatising
governance processes and letting to achieve more with less
investments, thus drawing positive effect on economic sector
•to improve general public’s knowledge about e-services and eopportunities provided by the public administration
•to raise ICT competences of state and municipal management
level workers in order to effectively organize delivery of
services
Proposed activities for 2014-2020:
Development of e-services, enhancing availability and use of public services
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 Target group: individuals, businesses, public authorities, local authorities, non
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governmental organizations
Type of support:
transformation/re-design and cost-effective electronization of public service delivery
processes in all public administration sectors, thus promoting cross-sectoral
cooperation and provision of One-Stop Agency and Give Data Once principles both at
national level and ensuring availability of services abroad;
development of cross border e-services within the framework and tasks of the Digital
Agenda for Europe;
participation in the cross-border cooperation projects ensuring the full-fledged
implementation of the Directive 2006/123/EK on services in the internal market and
continuing the incorporation of Latvia in the European Single Market;
adaptation of the services for cooperation in the European Single Market by
establishing solutions to make e-services available in other EU languages
Output indicators: 775 developed or modernized e-services
ERDF funding: 110,49 million EUR National co-financing: 19,49 million EUR
Proposed activities for 2014-2020:
Open and interoperable public data infrastructure
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 Target group: public authorities, local authorities, individuals, businesses
 Type of support:
 development of centralized ICT platforms and information systems providing
modernization of public administration governance processes and efficiency of
resources by developing open data infrastructure and interoperability solutions for
data exchange with European Solutions
 Output indicators: 23 Centralized information systems’ platforms
 ERDF funding: 61,22 million EUR National co-financing: 10,8 million EUR
Proposed activities for 2014-2020:
Improvement of e-skills
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 Target group: individuals, businesses, public authorities, local authorities
 Type of support:
 different forms and levels of activities (e.g. seminars, educational trainings) targeted at
improvement of people’s knowledge about public e-services and e-opportunities
offers and their utilization, especially focused on people living in rural areas
 educational trainings for state and municipal workers so they can strengthen their
efficiency and productivity through effective organization of service delivery as well as
they are able to support and educate clients on use of public e-services
 Output indicators: 256 000 individuals who have raised their digital competency
 ERDF funding: 4,88 million EUR National co-financing: 0,86 million EUR
Expected result indicators
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Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Latvia
Department of Communications
Broadband network infrastructure
development in Latvia
Europe 2020 and Digital Agenda
goals for broadband
All Europeans should have access to higher internet speeds of above 30
Mbps;
50% or more of European households subscribe to internet connections
above 100 Mbps;
List of Actions
Action 46: Member States to develop national broadband plans;
Action 47: Member States to facilitate broadband investment;
Action 48: Use structural funds to finance the roll-out of high-speed
networks;
Action 49: Implementing the European Radio Spectrum Policy
Programme in Member States.
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National Legal Basis in Latvia
 Sustainable Development Strategy of Latvia until
2030;
 National Development Plan 2014 – 2020;
 Electronic Communication Sector Guidelines 2011 –
2016;
 Concept “Next Generation Access Network
Development 2013 – 2020”
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Weaknesses
 Digital gap between urban and rural areas
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Weaknesses
• There are no operators, intended to create access points
to optical network in 71.2% of Latvia’s territorial units (in
county municipalities);
• Operators have no plans to develop the optical subscribe
lines in the territories with middle and low economic
interests;
• The use of currently available radio spectrum, that can
deliver to the end users internet access speeds defined
in the Digital Agenda is not economic profitable in
sparsely populated territories
• Low purchasing power of inhabitants in rural areas.
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Broadband penetration and Internet usage
Basic and high-speed (30 Mbps and above) penetration, July 2012 (Source: COCOM)
According to Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia, there was 62,5% of
inhabitants in Latvia, regularly using Internet in 2010, 66,2% in 2011 and
70,3% in 2012.
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Development of broadband (NGN)
Objectives:
 State aided development of the broadband infrastructure -
second phase of project “Next Generation Network for rural
areas”;
Possible solutions:
 Within the framework of Optical Network State Aid Program,
provide EU funding;
 Not to provide funding.
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Development of broadband (NGN)
Objective: Development of the broadband infrastructure - second phase of project “Next Generation
Network for rural areas”:
Selected solution: Within the framework of Optical Network State Aid Program, provide EU funding;
Benefits: The broadband access infrastructure will offer open wholesale access basis to third-party
operators, who will be able to add their access infrastructures (i.e. the last mile network segment) and
deliver broadband services to end-users (consumers, businesses and public institutions). By 2015 the
first phase of the NGN project will ensure connection for approximately 165 points (1900 – 2000 km of
fibre lines). By 2018 the NGN project foresees totally setting up 500 connection points to NGN
(approximately 7000 km of fibre lines).
Funding: EU funds 28,45 million EUR; National co-finance 28,45 million EUR
Result of activity
Planned achievable 2011
indicator
2016
2020
Established broadband fibre
network in all teritory
Proportion of territorial
units, where wholesale
access to fibre network
is available
54.9 %
100%
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28.8 %
Development of broadband (last mile)
Objectives:
 State aided development of the broadband infrastructure -
establishment of last mile connections.
Possible solutions:
 To establish last mile connections in sparsely populated and
low economic activity regions;
 Not to establish connections.
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Development of broadband (last mile)
Objective: Development of the broadband infrastructure - establishment of last mile
connections:
Selected solution: To establish last mile connections in sparsely populated and low
economic activity regions;
Benefits: Electronic communications operators will have opportunity to provide Internet
access services to end users in rural areas. End-users will have the opportunity to choose
the retail operator, the services and the last mile technology according to their needs.
Funding: EU funds 22,75 million EUR; National co-finance 34,14 million EUR
Result of activity
Planned achievable 2011
indicator
2016
2020
Increased number of
subscribers, who has Internet
access speed of above 30
Mbit/s
The number of
households subscribed to
Internet access services
of above 30 Mbit/s
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40 000
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Coherence and synergy between envisaged State Aid
programmes
• State Aid for the establishment of the last mile connections will be based on
the study that will take into account:
– impact of the project “Next Generation Network for rural areas”;
– public auction of the 800 MHz band.
• Roll - out of high speed fibre networks as well as allocation of rights of use of
800 MHz band will contribute to the development of last mile:
– Electronic communication operators will have opportunity to connect their
infrastructure to the high speed fibre networks in order improve internet access
services to the existing end-users
– 800 MHz band is suitable to cover sparsely populated areas and provide high
speed internet access to end-users
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Coherence and possible synergy with other
relevant activities
The activities “Next-generation network in rural areas” and “Development
of the broadband infrastructure – the establishment of last mile
connection” are complementary to the 2014-2020 planning period
activities of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional
Development “Development of e-services, enhancing availability and use
of public services”, “Open and interoperable public data infrastructure”
and “Improvement of e-skills”. Creation of fast and ultra-fast data
transmission network and availability of it in the whole territory of Latvia
will lay the ground for sustainable development of e-services and digital
content.
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Thank you for your attention!
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