19. 09. 2008

STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT FOR RTS

Belgrade, September 19, 2008 (Glas javnosti) - In her interview to Fonet yesterday, the Serbian Minister of Telecommunications, Jasna Matić, announced that RTS digitalization would cost tens of millions of US dollars. In order to achieve that, EU assistance would be requested. Furthermore, she has announced a possibility of merging Serbia's Republic Agency for Telecommunications (RATEL) and the Radio-Diffusion Agency into a single regulatory body, although a decision on that has not yet been reached.

- Such is the tendency in some European countries, but we have still not made a decision. What is certain, however, is that, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and Public Information, we are working on a year- or a year-and-a-half-long action plan to achieve a legal framework which would not be contradictory or contain holes for regulating that sphere –  Matić explained.

She confirmed that the two Ministries, that of Telecommunications and of Culture and Public Information, are currently working on several laws in the spheres of communication and the media. She also stated that RTS digitalization would cost tens of millions of US dollars, which would be financed from the budget; nevertheless, the state would also require EU’s assistance in the matter.

She pointed out that the expected increase in the telecommunication sphere was 1,650,000,000 US dollars, which is more than in developed countries, since the “basis is smaller”.

Competition

When asked when “Telecom” would get competition in the sphere of fixed telephony, Matić replied that that was in the best interest of the public, but also of “Telecom” itself.

- Market liberalization ought to be coordinated with the privatization of “Telecom”, so that Serbia could have a powerful representative at the world market –stated Matić.

Phoning via Internet

She announced that the Regulation on telephoning via Internet (VOIP) would go into effect in several weeks, and expressed her expectation that the citizens would accordingly receive cheaper service of higher quality.

- In the upcoming weeks the Law on Electronic Signatures and Electronic Documents ought to go into effect, which should considerably enhance the communication and business efficiency – Matić pointed out.

Matić believes that the role of the state, including the Ministry of Telecommunications, is to form a legal framework, which would clearly indicate to all the potential investors what to expect.

According to Jasna Matić, a workgroup for the digitalization strategy has been formed; it would deal with the change of RTS broadcasting equipment and adjust the content for the digital signal, while the citizens would be burdened with the expenses when receiving the signal.