What CETIN Bulgaria does

CETIN Bulgaria EAD (Цетин България ЕАД) is a wholesale telecommunications infrastructure provider headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria, founded in July 2020 when PPF Group separated the infrastructure assets of Telenor Bulgaria from the retail mobile business (which became Yettel Bulgaria). The company owns and operates one of the largest electronic communications networks in Bulgaria, comprising mobile access networks (4G/5G with 80% population coverage at end-2024 targeting 85% by 2026), a fibre backbone and aggregation network, a high-capacity fixed access network, data centres in Sofia and Plovdiv, and pan-European data connectivity spanning Frankfurt, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Sofia, and Belgrade at speeds from 1 Mbps to 100 Gbps.

CETIN Bulgaria monetizes its infrastructure through regulated wholesale access to ISPs, mobile operators, government agencies, and enterprise customers across multiple verticals including transport and railway, healthcare, industry and manufacturing, real estate, energy, and financial services. The product portfolio includes mobile and fibre network services, colocation, SD-WAN, international roaming, security services (SIEM/SOC/XDR, all rolled out 2022-2024), and EU-funded rural fibre deployments under NextGenerationEU and the 5G Balkans cross-border corridor project. Pricing is governed by formal General Terms and Conditions for physical infrastructure access; contracts are typically multi-year and enterprise-quoted.

The go-to-market is enterprise field sales combined with event-driven and partnership-led engagement (ministries, municipalities, industry events, university partnerships such as with Technical University of Sofia). The company participates in EU/CEF2-funded programs, holds ISO 27001/27701/14001/45001/9001/20000-1 certifications, a 10-year renewable PPA with Electrohold covering ~86% of electricity consumption, and is led by CEO Petar Mudrinić (appointed January 2021) with a management team primarily inherited from Telenor Bulgaria and Telenor Common Operation.

Name

CETIN Bulgaria

Legal name

CETIN Bulgaria EAD (Цетин България ЕАД)

Website

https://cetinbg.bg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CETIN Bulgaria is a wholesale telecommunications infrastructure provider in Sofia, Bulgaria, owning one of the country's largest electronic communications networks. It sells mobile, fibre, data centre, and managed security services on a regulated, multi-year wholesale basis to ISPs, mobile operators, government, and enterprise customers across multiple verticals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Sofia

HQ country

Bulgaria

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Wholesale Network Services: Provides wholesale telecommunications infrastructure and network services to ISPs, operators, and enterprises. Revenue generated from granting access to and sharing of physical infrastructure, network connectivity services, and infrastructure rental.
2. Physical Infrastructure Sharing: Regulated access to physical infrastructure according to Electronic Communications Network and Physical Infrastructure Act. General terms and conditions regulate relationships for granting access to and sharing of physical infrastructure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CETIN Bulgaria operates one of the largest electronic communications networks in Bulgaria, providing wholesale telecommunications infrastructure services to ISPs, operators, government agencies, and enterprise customers. The company delivers data, voice, and Internet connectivity through its mobile access networks, fiber optic backbone, aggregation network, and high-capacity fixed access network, with speeds ranging from 1 Mbps to 100 Gbps across Bulgarian and European cities.

Product overview

CETIN Bulgaria is a wholesale telecommunications infrastructure provider operating one of the largest electronic communications networks in Bulgaria. The company offers a unified portfolio of network services including mobile (4G/5G), fiber optic backbone, data center colocation, roaming, and security solutions. Their core offering centers on providing wholesale network infrastructure to ISPs, operators, government agencies, and enterprise customers across speeds from 1 Mbps to 100 Gbps, with European coverage spanning Frankfurt, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Sofia, and Belgrade. Major initiatives include the EU-funded NextGenerationEU digital infrastructure deployment and the 5G Balkans cross-border corridor project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Network energy efficiency improved by almost 5 times over 5 years
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ministry of Transport and Communications (Bulgaria)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2025Government ministry overseeing NextGenerationEU projects. Monitoring and Reporting Structure team from the ministry attended project kick-off events. Close cooperation between state and private sector for National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) implementation.
• Technical University of SofiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024TU Sofia is part of the 5G Balkans consortium. University conducts measurements, analyses, and reports for optical cable and base station coverage. Company presents projects to telecommunications students and supports development of new engineering talent.
• 5G Balkans ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 20245G Balkans project funded by Connected Europe Facility (CEF2) program under Grant Agreement No. 101133895. Project improves optic connectivity along Sofia-Serbia transport corridor (Orient/East-Med TEN-T corridor) for Connected & Automated Mobility (CAM) services. Execution period January 2024 - December 2026.
• ElectroholdcoreOthers · 1 September 2023Electrohold is Bulgaria's leading renewable energy trader. 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Electrohold provides approximately 86% of CETIN's electricity from 123 MW photovoltaic power plant. Renewable energy sourcing enabled significant carbon emission reductions.
• Yettel BulgariacoreOthersSister company within PPF Telecom Group. Yettel operates retail mobile services using CETIN's network infrastructure. Collaborative efforts on sustainability including renewable energy sourcing and network improvements. Investment of nearly 3,000 locations for network improvements in 2023.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CETIN Group: Parent group operating the same wholesale telecom infrastructure model across Czechia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia, and Montenegro. Closest comparable in business model, asset profile, and operating approach.
• RETN: Independent wholesale telecom carrier operating a pan-European fiber network. Comparable as a wholesale data and capacity provider targeting enterprise and carrier customers in CEE.
• Vivacom (Bulgarian Telecommunications Company): Largest integrated telecom operator in Bulgaria, controlling up to 70% of certain regional internet access markets per CPC. Directly competes with CETIN for wholesale and enterprise customers.
• A1 Bulgaria: Major Bulgarian mobile and fixed operator (subsidiary of A1 Telekom Austria Group). Direct competitor in wholesale network services and enterprise connectivity.
• BICS (Proximus wholesale arm): Wholesale telecom carrier and global connectivity provider offering similar services to operators and enterprises. Comparable in business model, customer base, and wholesale-only positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Cellnex Telecom: Europe's largest independent tower and telecom infrastructure operator. Comparable as a wholesale infrastructure specialist with a multi-country footprint and asset-heavy business model.
• A1 Telekom Austria Group: Regional CEE telecom incumbent and parent of A1 Bulgaria. Operates an integrated carrier business that competes with CETIN at both retail and wholesale infrastructure layers.
• Helios Towers: Independent tower company operating across Africa and select European markets. Comparable as a wholesale infrastructure operator with a similar asset-heavy, tenancy-driven business model.
• Yettel Bulgaria: Sister retail mobile operator under PPF Telecom Group, leveraging CETIN's network infrastructure. Functions as CETIN's largest anchor customer rather than a direct wholesale competitor.
• Lumen Technologies: Large global telecom and infrastructure services provider. Comparable at the wholesale fiber/carrier services level, especially for enterprise and cross-border connectivity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cetin-bulgaria

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CETIN Bulgaria