Internet in Bulgaria: speed, price and contracts

Everyday life · Last reviewed: 2026-08-23

Why there is no price here

Fixed internet pricing in Bulgaria is formed in three layers, none of which is public official statistics. The first is the list price shown in the website table. The second is the commitment discount: the same service is sold at a different rate against a two-year commitment, and advertising usually foregrounds that second figure. The third is the bundle discount: internet is cheaper when bought with television or mobile, but drop one component and the discount drops too. Any comparison made without knowing which layer you are looking at is wrong.

Infrastructure: how widespread is fibre

Unlike price, infrastructure data is official and is published annually by the European Commission. On this measure Bulgaria sits well above the EU average: according to the Digital Decade country report, fibre-to-the-premises coverage is 93.53% against an EU average of 74.13%. Even in sparsely populated areas coverage reaches 83.34%, against an EU average of 62.61%. These figures were taken on 23 August 2026; the report is refreshed yearly, so confirm the current value in the official source listed below.

The same report says Bulgaria's real challenge is not coverage but use: despite high coverage, the shift to gigabit speeds remains limited, and the report names affordability and territorial disparities as the reasons. The national roadmap contains 60 measures with a total budget of EUR 2.19 billion (2.11% of gross domestic product). The practical consequence is simple: „there is fibre at this address“ does not mean every package sold there is a gigabit package.

Contract length: the 24-month cap

Bulgaria is an EU member state, so electronic communications contracts fall under the European framework. The European Electronic Communications Code (Directive (EU) 2018/1972) caps the maximum commitment period for consumer contracts at 24 months. The same framework requires the provider to hand you a short standardised contract summary before signature — price, duration, speed and termination terms on a single page. Being asked to sign without one is itself a warning sign.

• •Commitment period and contract lifetime are different things. After the commitment ends the contract usually continues, and at that stage you have a protected right to terminate with reasonable notice and without extra cost.
• •Automatic rollover: the service stays the same but the discount may fall away. Put the end date in your calendar — that is the moment to renegotiate the same service for less.
• •Installation and equipment are separate lines. „Free installation“ is usually tied to the commitment: leave early and its value can be reclaimed.
• •Who owns the device? Rented equipment must be returned complete and on time; a missing part lands on the invoice. Keep a photo and serial number from the day you receive it.
• •What happens if the bundle breaks? Cancel the television and the internet may cost more. Ask this before you sign, and ask for the answer in writing.

Advertised speed versus real speed

For fixed services the contract must state the maximum, normally available and minimum speeds separately. Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 treats any significant discrepancy, continuous or regularly recurring, between actual performance and the performance stated by the provider — where established by a monitoring mechanism certified by the national regulator — as non-conformity of performance, which triggers the consumer remedies available under national law. In other words, „it is sometimes slow“ is not a complaint; documented, it is a legal basis.

1. 1

   Find the three speeds

   Maximum, normally available and minimum download and upload speeds are in the contract or in the summary. Note them down — your complaint will be judged against them.
2. 2

   Measure over cable, not Wi-Fi

   A wireless measurement includes in-home interference and the provider will reasonably reject it. Connect the computer directly to the device.
3. 3

   Collect repeated measurements

   One slow moment proves nothing. Measure on different days and at different hours, with screenshots and timestamps.
4. 4

   Complain to the provider in writing

   The framework obliges providers to run transparent and effective complaint procedures. Do not phone — write, and keep the reference number.
5. 5

   Escalate to the regulator if unresolved

   Bulgaria's national regulatory authority for electronic communications is the Communications Regulation Commission; consumer protection authorities are also competent on the consumer side. Without a written history this step is weak.

What happens when you move

This is where newcomers are most often surprised: a committed contract attaches to the person, not the address, and does not end by itself when you move. In practice there are three possibilities, and which applies depends on your contract text: the provider transfers the service to the new address; where that is technically impossible the contract is terminated on stated conditions; or the commitment continues and you keep paying for a service you cannot use.

Switching provider

The EU framework has the switching process led by the receiving provider and sets a maximum service loss of one working day when switching between internet access providers. Number portability follows the same logic. In practice delays are administrative rather than technical: an unexpired commitment, unreturned equipment or an outstanding balance. So make the switching decision knowing when your current contract ends.

How to build your own comparison

• •Compare the same speed class, and pick by need rather than by price.
• •Fix the commitment period: a 12-month offer and a 24-month offer are not in the same table.
• •Compute the total: (monthly fee × months) + installation + equipment + activation.
• •Write the bundle-break scenario: what does internet cost without television?
• •Ask for the early termination charge and add it as its own row.
• •Confirm coverage by address; a national average is not evidence about your building.

What we deliberately did not write

• •Monthly tariff amounts. Market data, promotion-dependent, not published by any institution.
• •Installation, activation and equipment charges. Same reason — read them in the contract summary.
• •Operator recommendations or rankings. This page recommends no provider; it shows the questions.
• •Mobile data packages. A separate topic, covered in our article on getting a mobile line.
• •Average speeds by city. The official country report gives no such breakdown; address-level confirmation is the only reliable route.

Frequently asked questions

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