TheInternet inBulgaria began to offer fullTCP/IP services in 1992, althoughe-mail,network news, and some otherInternet services were available earlier, during the period from 1989 to 1991. The.bgtop-level domain name was organized in 1991.[1] Internet speeds and connection reliability in the capital, Sofia, are consistently ranked among the fastest in the world by several independent studies.
Local area network (LAN) is the most common type of Internet access in Bulgaria. Over 60% of the consumers use this type of access because of the high speeds and good service. The biggestInternet service providers (ISPs) offer fiber optic access, called fiber-to-the-building (FTTB). This type of Internet access supports a variety of services, which are offered by most ISPs:IPTV,VoIP, andVideo on demand (VOD). The major ISPs have networks in the following cities:Sofia,Plovdiv,Burgas,Varna,Veliko Tarnovo,Lovech,Ruse andBlagoevgrad.[citation needed]
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) technology was introduced in Bulgaria after the privatisation of thestate monopoly Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (BTC) in 2004. Since then, availability has greatly increased and as of February 2006 it was offered in 140 towns and villages around the country. With the liberalisation of the telecommunications market, it is expected that other companies currently offering broadband Internet by other means will begin offering ADSL. At the end of 2006 the service was available to customers in 208 towns and villages.[citation needed]
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitorse-mail or Internetchat rooms without appropriate legal authority.[9]
The law provides forfreedom of speech andpress, and the government generally respects these rights. The penal code provides for from one to four years' imprisonment for incitement to "hate speech." The law defines hate speech as speech that instigates hatred, discrimination, or violence based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, marital or social status, or disability. Internetsocial networks have become increasingly popular withanti-Semitic groups. Web site administrators were deleting anti-Semitic comments under online media articles, but gradually stopped the practice.[9]
The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these provisions in practice. The security services can access electronic data with judicial permission when investigating cyber and serious crimes. However, NGOs criticise gaps in the law that allow the prosecution service to request such data directly from the service providers without court authorisation. There are no reports that the government attempts to collectpersonally identifiable information in connection with a person's peaceful expression of political, religious, or ideological opinions or beliefs.[9]
As of 2024, most used web browsers according to Statcounter were:
| Web browser | Market share | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | 75% | [10] |
| Safari | 10% | [10] |
| Firefox | 5.1% | [10] |
| Samsung Internet | 3.2% | [10] |
| Edge | 3.1% | [10] |
| Opera | 1.4% | [10] |
| Android | 0.56% | [10] |
| Instabridge | 0.13% | [10] |
| Yandex Browser | 0.08% | [10] |
| other | 0.17% | [10] |
As of 2024, most used web browsers according to Cloudflare were:
| Web browser | Market share | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | 73% | [11] |
| Safari | 9.7% | [11] |
| Firefox | 5.3% | [11] |
| Edge | 4.1% | [11] |
| Samsung Internet | 3.5% | [11] |
| Opera | 1.5% | [11] |
| Huawei Browser | 1.0% | [11] |
| Brave | 0.88% | [11] |
| Yandex Browser | 0.16% | [11] |
| Mi Browser | 0.13% | [11] |
| DuckDuckGo Private Browser | 0.09% | [11] |
| Avast Secure Browser | 0.08% | [11] |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromThe World Factbook (2025 ed.).CIA. (Archived 2014 edition.) This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Department of State.
