Telecommunications Companies in Bulgaria: Challenges and Opportunities in a Social Isolation Environment due to COVID-19

The period of lockdown due to the new coronavirus spreading convinces the public all over the world that the activity and the working of telecommunication companies are of crucial importance for the normal functioning of the economy and the society as a whole. This paper examines the activities and politics of the leading Bulgarian mobile network operators in an unprecedented stressful situation and under the increased supervision of the regulatory body during the state of emergency imposed by the government (13 March-13 May 2020). The methodology relevant to this purpose consists of descriptive and analytical tools, including interviews with representatives of telecommunications companies and Communications Regulation Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria. The pandemic situation brings network operators higher revenues, a rise in consumption of digital services and the opportunity to convince the public of their growing corporate and social responsibility. Along with the privileges, the COVID-19 crisis burdens telecommunications companies with the responsibility to maintain their networks and operations in an environment of unprecedented overload, as well as managing and mitigating the stress in society caused by the imposed deep and sudden changes. This positive image of Bulgarian telcos can be threatened by the intention of politicians to use mobile traffic data for tracking.