BANJA LUKA, 11.06.2018. – As written in Nezavisne novine, the BiH Council of Ministers, or the Ministry of Transport and Communications of BiH, said that mobile networks of the fourth generation (4G network) will be introduced in BiH by the end of this year. But we do not expect this to be really realized.
This is already the third time in the past year that the authorities move the deadlines for the introduction of the 4G network.
In the begining of April 2017, Ministry of Transport and Communication BiH said that the 4G network in BiH would be introduced by the end of the year, which of course was not done, and then in the beginning of December that same year they said that the citizens will have the fourth generation network by June or July.
When this deadline expired, the Council of Ministers recently, responding to one of the parliamentary questions, said it would be by the end of this year, which, as some experts say, is virtually impossible.
“Digitization has not yet been completed and will certainly not be until the end of the year. Switching from analogue to digital broadcasting frees the radiofrequency spectrum necessary for the introduction of the 4G network. First, this needs to be done, and then we can talk about introducing the 4G network. It is difficult, almost impossible, have a network of the fourth generation by the end of the year to ”, said the sorce of “Nezavisne novine” close to the ones working on the introduction of the 4G network, adding that the administrative procedure has not yet been brought to the end when it comes to matters, and that therefor we can not talk about technical ones.
Regarding the administration, Regulatory agency for Communication (RAK) BiH and The Council of Ministers has not yet finalized the license for the use of radio frequency spectrum for the provision of public electronic communications services through mobile access systems.
The Government of Republika Srpska told us that the draft of this decision was returned for refinement.
“The RS Government asks that the text of the draft decision clearly defines the distribution of funds in the name of the granted license with the previously obtained consent of the Government of the Republica Srpska”, as the Government of RS told us.
This practically means, if the procedures are followed, the Ministry of Transport and Communications of BiH should again submit to the RS Government a draft decision and, after receiving the green light, it is adopted by the Council of Ministers of BiH. At the moment, this draft is not yet in the Government of RS, and after this decision is adopted, only then The Regulathory Agency for Communications can grant permits to dominant telecom operators.
Otherwise, with regarding the Draft Decision on licenses to use the radio frequency spectrum for the provision of public electronic communications services through mobile access systems, the price proposed and is more than a hundred times lower than it was in the countries of the region. Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro took tens of hundreds of millions of KM in the name of the permit, and BiH, in all likelihood, and if it passes what was proposed to collect, only about three million KM
BiH is the only one in Europe that still has not developed a fourth-generation network, and the entire territory is not covered by the 3G network.