The process of digitization in Serbia is set on the healthy legs and could be completed by June 17 2015 as international obligations, said State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign and Internal Trade and Telecommunications Stefan Lazarevic.

Network plan for digital broadcasting is completed, the construction and other projects that were missing are ending, and at the end we have a final budget how much money it would be needed to complete this process, Lazarevic said at the seminar on the topic.

The good news is that these funds will be 50 percent smaller than the size of the estimates were at the beginning of this government, said Lazarevic. He, however, pointed out that the continued lack of available frequencies, and that their liberation significant help to the process of transition from analogue to digital broadcasting of television programs faster and easier to complete.

Also, it is necessary to fully edit our legislation, with the key step adoption of Law of electronic media within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture, said Lazarevic at the “Challenges and opportunities in broadcasting digitization” organized by the RBA.

He pointed out that all that has been done in this area, which is positive, is done primarily with the assistance of the EU. Lazarevic indicated that currently considering all options to help for certain social categories of the population so that they can freely continue to follow a television program when it is broadcast in digital format.

As he said, the countries that have had five percent of the population that followed the analog television broadcasting have been investing in digitization process, and here is the relationship between “cable” and “analog” users are 50 percent to 50 percent.

Head of Operations at the EU Delegation in Serbia, Yolanda San Jose, emphasized that Serbia must take decisive steps in the digitization and she said that Serbia cannot remain as “black analog hole in a digital Europe.”

She pointed out that other countries in the region in this view are much more progressed than Serbia, even Croatia and Slovenia have already switched to digital television, Hungary announced that it will make this year.

Jose said that the EU fully supports the digitization process in Serbia since 2010 and so far it has provided financial assistance of € 10.5 million for the purchase of equipment and consulting services.

She said that as soon as possible should be find a solution, because the equipment purchased by the EU does not use the delay process.