Communications regulatory
agency
About CRA
The Communications Regulatory Agency (Agency) was established on March 2nd, 2001 combining the competences of the Independent Media Commission and the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency, which had previously operated separately. The Agency operates on the state level, and its mandate is defined by the Law on Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina, no.31/03), which was originally imposed by the Decision of the High Representative in October 2002, and the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted it in September of the year 2003.
The Agency is a regulator with combined competencies, developed on the model of similar processes in other European countries, and reflects the convergence of technologies in telecommunications and broadcasting in a way that can respond to market needs.
The market of electronic communications is a sector of advanced technologies, and its main characteristics are the development of technologies, the constant introduction of new services, and continuous development of business models. This is also a sector governed by dominant participants with a significant marketing power. The challenges placed before regulators of such a market are focused on the establishment of a balance among the stakeholders: the users on one hand and the market on the other side, protecting the interests of users in a competitive market and supporting the entry of new participants.
Modeled after similar institutions in Europe, the Agency's competences are based on the principles of independence, the implementation of regulation and monitoring, compliance with laws and regulations, and the ensuring of technical, financial, and staffing prerequisites for the effective execution of tasks.
In accordance with the Law on Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Agency’s competences are: the development and promotion of rules in the sectors of telecommunications and broadcasting, the licensing of operators in the broadcasting and telecommunications sectors, the planning, management and allocation of the frequency spectrum, the implementation of technical and other standards related to quality, and the establishing and maintenance of license fees.
Central location Sarajevo
Mission
The Agency's mission is to regulate the market for electronic communications and audiovisual sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to manage and control the frequency spectrum. The goal is to create the conditions for the application of new technologies, the development of a competitive sector of electronic communications and the provision of quality services, in the best interests of the end user, as well as the continuous development of media freedom for the benefit of citizens and society.
Vision
An established, unified, competitive and liberalized electronic communications market in accordance with European and world standards of technology development, as well as providing freedom of speech and media freedom in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Organisational structure
The Agency is managed by following bodies:
- Director General
- Council of the Agency
The Director General manages the Agency and, in accordance with the Law, is responsible for regulatory functions, administrative operations, and staffing issues, as well as for the establishment of internal procedural rules. The Director General is appointed by the Council of the Agency, and approved by the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The term of the Director-General mandate is four years, and can be re-appointed only once. According to Article 40 of the Law on Communications of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Director General may not be an official in a legislative or executive function at any level of the government, or a member of political party bodies. The Director General reports to the Council of the Agency.
The Council of the Agency consists of seven members nominated by the Council of Ministers on the basis of a list of candidates submitted by the Council of the Agency, and appointed by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council manages the Agency in strategic issues of law implementation, adopts codes of practice and rules for the areas of operations in the authority of the Agency. Additionally, the Council of the Agency serves as an appellate body for decisions of the Director General. The decisions of the Council of the Agency are made by consensus. In the event that a consensus cannot be achieved, the Council of the Agency reaches a simple majority decision on that matter, provided that at least four members are present and vote.
The basic organizational units of the Agency are the Cabinet of General Director, sections, and divisions. Sections, as basic organizational units, are established within the Agency’s area of operation, as follows:
The Section of Telecommunications:
Telecommunications Licensing Division
Interconnection and market regulation Division
The Section of Broadcasting:
Programming and Complaints Division
Coordination, Cooperation and Audiovisual Services Division
The Section of Radiocommunications:
Frequency Spectrum Management Division
Radio Monitoring and Control Division
The Section of Legal, Financial, and General Affairs:
Legal Division
Financial – Accounting and General Affairs Division
The Section of Strategy and planning:
Strategic Planning Division
Analytics and Coordination Division
Independent Departments:
Licensing and Fees Department
Public Relations Department
Information Technology Department
Banja Luka Regional Office
Mostar Regional Office
Director General
Draško
Milinović
Draško Milinović was born on October 9th, 1974 in Prijedor. He acquired the title of graduate journalist at the Faculty of Philosophy in Banja Luka.
In the period from 1997 to 2006, he worked as an editor and host on several local radio stations in Prijedor, and in several editorial offices of the Radio -Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS).
Following that, until 2014, he performed the duty of Public Relations Advisor to the President of Republika Srpska, the Head of the Cabinet of the President of Republika Srpska and the Head of the Cabinet of the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, when he took over the position of Director General of Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS), one of the Public Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He is the President of the Tennis Association of Republika Srpska.
Council of the Agency
Nino
Ćorić
Nino Ćorić was born in 1969 in Ljubuški, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He works as assistant professor at the Mostar University Faculty of Philosophy and assistant professor at the Sarajevo University Faculty of Traffic and Communications since 2012.
He worked as an advisor in the government of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, was a member of the Council of the Agency for Postal Traffic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a member of the System Development and Marketing Administration in HP Mostar. From 2000 to 2003 he was the head of the Sector for Marketing and International Relations of HPT Mostar, where he continued his professional engagement started in the Directorate of TK/Post Directorate HPT Mostar, where he worked as a specialist/senior specialist.
He is the author and co-author of a dozen of expert and scientific papers. He participated in numerous expert and scientific meetings, congresses, conferences and projects in the country and abroad, where he was a member of organizational and scientific committees.
Faruk
Borić
Faruk Borić was born in 1978 in Sarajevo. After graduating from the Sarajevo University Faculty of Political Sciences – Journalism, in 2012 he became the master of sciences from the field of religious studies at the Sarajevo University, within the Center for Interdisciplinary Post-Graduate Studies. He also graduated from the Media Plan High School of Journalism, a specialist school in cooperation with the partner and program l’École supérieure de journalisme de Lille. Since 2011, he holds the doctoral degree from Political Sciences at the University of Sarajevo.
During his professional career, he performed various journalist and editorial functions in print and electronic media, with a particular emphasis on the positions of the editor-in-chief of Sarajevo daily Oslobodjenje, internet portal "Sarajevo-x" (recently renamed to "Klix.ba") and magazine BH DANI. He is currently the director of a public institution "Federal news agency (FENA)".
Zoran
Tomić
Zoran Tomić is a full-time professor and the Dean of the Mostar University Faculty of Philosophy, and his field of work is studying public relations and political communication.
He attended education programs in the United States of America (1995, USAID program), Germany (1996, CSU program) and Great Britain (1999, USAID program). He is the author and co-author of several books and textbooks, as well as around fifty scientific and expert papers from the field of public relations, political campaigns and communications, as well as media rights.
In particular, he attracted attention from the academic and expert community in 2008 after the publishing of his book "Public Relations – Theory and Practice", which provides theoretical foundations combined with practices in communication management.
Miloš
Šolaja
Miloš Šolaja was born in 1956 in Banja Luka, where he works as a full-time professor at the Banja Luka University Faculty of Political Sciences. He is also the director and founder of the Center for International Relations Banja Luka. After studying political sciences in Belgrade (Serbia) and Zagreb (Croatia), where he graduated, as well as electrical engineering and communications in Banja Luka and Sarajevo, he completed his master’s and doctoral studies from comparative politics and international relations in Zagreb.
During his rich professional career, he dealt with the issues of international relations, European and Euro-Atlantic integration processes of the region of south-eastern Europe, challenges of regional cooperation and security, democracy, and media. He is the author of three books case studies in which he worked on different topics, such as the role of mass media in the political orientation of voters and position of the Balkans in trans-Atlantic “in-between” space. He is also the author of numerous scientific papers published in local and international scientific magazines.
Ljubo
Božović
Ljubo Božović was born in 1956 in Prečani, Trnovo municipality, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1980, he received his diploma as the performance artist at the Sarajevo University Faculty of Philosophy, Department of Performance Arts – Section for General Literature and Performance Arts. During his professional career, he gained rich experience in the media and the field of culture. In the period from 1992 to 1997 he was the editor of the cultural program of the Srpska Radio Television.
In 1998, he was the editor for theatrical arts at the Republika Srpska Cultural Institution “Srna Fest” and in the period from 1999 to 2012 he worked as the full-time professor of acting at the Department for Solo Signing at the Music Academy of the University of Eastern Sarajevo. Since 2012, he is a full-time professor at the University Of East Sarajevo Faculty Of Philosophy, Department of General Literature and Theater, subject Acting, Scenic movement and speech.