Bosnia-Herzegovina

[BA] Telecommunications Competence of Bosnia and Herzegovina Widens

IRIS 2002-7:1/33

Dusan Babic

Media Analyst, Sarajevo

In late April the Communications Regulatory Agency (CRA), which was created in March 2001 as a single regulator for Bosnia and Herzegovina in the field of communications (see IRIS 2001-4: 4), and the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) signed the Normalization Agreement on Radio Spectrum Resource Coordination in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This agreement transferred the competencies for the allocation of frequencies from SFOR to CRA as the sole authority in charge of frequencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. SFOR will continue to coordinate radio-frequency spectrum for its own requirements.

According to Paragraph 13, Annex 1A, Appendix B to Annex 1A, of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (GFAP), commonly known as the Dayton Peace Agreement (DPA), NATO has had "the right to use all of the electro-magnetic spectrum for this purpose, free of cost ..." This was part of the agreement on the military aspects of the peace settlement.

Seven years after the signing of the DPA, the political situation in the country has improved significantly, allowing for steps to be taken to reduce SFOR control of the radio spectrum in the country. In February 2000 SFOR firstly handed over some aspects of its responsibility for the control and management of commercial and frequency spectrum to the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (the predecessor of the CRA). By signing the Normalization Agreement, SFOR has now extended the February 2000 agreement with CRA to comprise all bands and all uses of the radio spectrum. After the April 2002 agreement, military and police forces of the entities, Federation of BA and Republika Srpska, must deal with the CRA for the issuing of licenses for both military and civilian frequency or civilian radios. Even SFOR is obliged to approach the CRA for civilian radio purposes.