Bosnia-Herzegovina

[BA] Transition to Digital Terrestrial Television

IRIS 2008-5:1/3

Dusan Babic

Media Analyst, Sarajevo

The Council of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Forum of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH DTT Forum) held its regular meeting in Sarajevo on 3 April 2008 with coordinators of five working groups: Regulatory Framework, Technical Aspects, Socio-Economic Impacts, Programming, and Presentation and Promotion. It was concluded that progress has been achieved so far in the work of the BiH DTT Forum and support was given to the continuance of successful cooperation between the BiH Ministry of Traffic and Communications and the Communications Regulatory Agency (RAK).

The DTT Forum of BiH was formally established in May 2006, but became operational in the summer of 2007 as an ad hoc body working under the auspices of the RAK. It was given the task to analyse the current broadcasting environment and to elaborate a comprehensive plan for the transition from analogue to digital, considering different strategic options, including in particular the coexistence of analogue and digital broadcasting, the gradual turn-off of analogue networks, and a switch-off strategy.

The Forum clearly suggests that a country specific approach has been considered, i.e., bearing in mind the fragmentation of the broadcasting sector in the country, the underdeveloped advertising industry and the lack of financial resources for existing broadcasters, an early transition to DTT is not yet a foreseeable option. However, the RAK has already drafted a plan for this undertaking entitled “Strategy for Transition to Digital Terrestrial Television”, which should be strictly in line with the Final Acts of the ITU 2006 Regional Radiocommunication Conference for the Planning of the Digital Terrestrial Broadcasting Service in parts of Regions 1 and 3.