Telecommunications>Opinions, Comments, Analyses

On.net is one of the most prominent internet service providers now trying to move into other areas of telecommunications. It has already signed the interconnection agreement with incumbent operator of fixed land-lines, Macedonian Telecommunications. Also, On.net has been involved in a variety of corporate responsibility operations and activities. We talked to Predrag Cemerikic, the General Manager of On.net.

To get an insight of Kosovo telecommunications situation, owpsee interviewed Anton K. Berisha, Chairman of Kosovo’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority.

The legal framework in Albania is covered by the Telecommunication Regulatory Entity, the regulatory body on telecommunications and development policies. Although legally its task was to regulate the telecommunications operations and it aims to protect public interests and create transparent regulatory environment, which assists in inciting investments and free competition situation in the telecommunication market in the country is still monopolized and with many abuse cases and corruptive affairs.

The lacking legal framework; exclusion from international associations of postal services and telecommunications due to its unresolved status; delayed transfer of competences by UNMIK to Kosovans; the drag in the licensing of other operators apart from the public one – Post and Telecommunications of Kosovo (PTK); use of foreign telecommunications codes and enormous expenditures it entails; these are all factors that have had to be taken into consideration in the development of telecommunications sector in Kosovo since 1999. The ultimate result of such a situation has been the creation of a monopoly in the sector, detrimental to the users of services in general.

Compared to the other countries in SEE, the Croatian telecommunications sector is very well developed. The liberalization, i.e. the formal elimination of monopolies, was implemented in all segments of the market, while the state ownership in the incumbent operator is below 50 percent. Furthermore, a stable regulatory and policy framework was established, providing satisfactory levels of autonomy for the Telecommunications Agency (according to the European Commission) and the Central Administrative Bureau for e-Croatia, which has done strong work to increase public access to information and communication technology. Finally, the availability and quality of telecommunication services, as well as the percentage of population that uses them are among the best and highest in the region (according to the comparative report on telecommunications sector in SEE, prepared by Cullen International).

Before the war erupted in the early 1990s, there was a well established telecommunications infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina that included the telephone and telegraph network, as well as a network for transfer of data. The total capacity of B&H telephone exchange facilities was 744,000 telephone lines. The war caused huge material damages on telecommunications facilities. In addition, the administrative division of the country into two entities created a division in the telecommunications sector.

The political will to improve the situation in the area of telecommunications and ICT does exist in Macedonia and is getting stronger, judging from the announcements made by the new Government that the Law on Information Society is in the process of being adopted, but also from the intention to establish a Ministry of Information Society, expected to become operational by the end of this year. At the E-Society regional conference that took place just ten days ago, Minister of Transport and Communications Mile Janakievski announced a number of projects that will be implemented next year, including a project to secure free computers for Macedonian schools.

Back in June 2005, when the eight-year monopoly agreement with Telecom Serbia expired, experts in telecommunications market expressed their hopes that competition in this sector will enter Serbia over the next year or so, increasing the quality of services and reducing the prices. A year and a half later, the situation in Serbian market remains unchanged. Moreover, according to Telecommunications Development Strategy (TDS), recently adopted by the Government of Serbia, the monopoly of the Telecom has been, for all practical purposes, extended till 2010.