Serbia is advancing a €105 million rural broadband programme designed to extend fibre infrastructure into underserved areas and connect communities where low population density has limited commercial telecom investment. A new tender under the EBRD-backed Rural Broadband Rollout 2 programme seeks technical assistance to complete the project, including a national WebGIS portal covering completed fibre clusters, an electronic repository for project documentation and updated mapping of broadband availability across Serbia.
The programme is supported by a €100 million sovereign loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) against estimated total project costs of €105 million. The investment is intended to connect up to 1,600 rural schools and public institutions to Serbia’s existing fibre backbone.
Public infrastructure supports private network expansion
The programme separates the infrastructure requirements of rural broadband between public investment and private telecom operators. State-funded investment covers the mid-mile fibre infrastructure needed to reach underserved settlements. Telecom operators can then use that infrastructure to extend last-mile services to households and businesses without having to finance the full cost of fibre deployment across sparsely populated areas.
According to EBRD data, the initial stages of the programme had reached more than 350 schools and 63,000 households across 382 communities by the end of 2025. The second phase is ultimately planned to cover approximately 152,000 households across 1,100 communities. Operators receive long-term rights to use the publicly developed infrastructure, while open-access rules are designed to enable multiple providers to compete over the same network.
Second phase includes 3,200 kilometres of fibre
Serbia’s government said the second construction phase envisages more than 3,200 kilometres of optical network, covering approximately 470 villages and 212,000 residents. The phase also includes broadband connections for around 700 primary schools and satellite school units. The first phase installed approximately 1,600 kilometres of fibre across about 400 settlements. Government planning currently envisages completion of the works.
The latest technical-assistance procurement indicates that the programme is moving increasingly toward documentation, mapping and management of the infrastructure being developed. The planned digital records will cover fibre routes, completed assets and broadband availability, providing a basis for identifying remaining coverage gaps and assessing locations for further investment.
Broadband investment targets underserved households
The rural broadband programme was developed after government analysis found that more than 500,000 households lacked access to next-generation high-speed broadband, particularly in areas where telecom operators had limited commercial incentives to invest independently. Expanding connectivity could increase the availability of digital infrastructure for businesses and households outside Belgrade, Novi Sad and other major urban centres.
The programme also provides telecom operators with access to publicly financed fibre infrastructure, reducing the amount of backbone investment they would otherwise need to finance when entering sparsely populated markets.
Serbia considers further broadband expansion
The EBRD said Serbia is already considering a third phase of the rural broadband programme, while similar risk-sharing structures are being examined for broadband projects elsewhere in the Western Balkans. The current programme combines public financing of core fibre infrastructure with open-access arrangements for private operators, covering rural households, communities, schools and public institutions. With the second phase planned to include thousands of kilometres of optical network and hundreds of additional villages, Serbia is continuing to expand the fibre backbone into areas that have previously remained underserved by high-speed broadband.
