The Council of Competition of Bosnia and Herzegovina has initiated proceedings at the request of “Telemach d.o.o. Sarajevo” against “Telekom Srbija a.d.” Belgrade, the Republic of Serbia and the Public Media Institution Radio Television of Serbia for the purpose of preventing, restricting and distorting market competition.
The Council of Competition decided to initiate the proceedings at its meeting on 10th of October.
In the new procedure, “Telemach” refers to the articles of the Competition Act relating to prohibited competition practices and abuse of a dominant position.
A few months ago, some media raised dust, claiming that “M: tel” from Banja Luka, majority-owned by “Telekom Srbija”, acquired a monopoly in the market through the purchase of “Logosoft”, “Blicnet”, “Telrad Net”, and then “Elta-Kabel”, and the Council of Ministers became involved in the whole case.
An analysis subsequently conducted by the Council of Ministers of Competition for the Council of Ministers of BiH showed that no operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina has dominance in the distribution of audiovisual media services and content, but that “Telemah doo Sarajevo”, with related legal entities, has significant market power.
This analysis was made prior to “M: Tel’s” takeover of the “Elta-Kabel” from Doboj. This latest acquisition of “M:tel” was “conditionally allowed” by the Council of Competition, but did not elaborate on what it meant.
The latest influence of “Telekom Serbia” on the market in the region, including BiH, is the launch of “Euronews” through “Telekom Srbija’s” subsidiary, “HD Win”.
“HD Win”, by the way, is known for managing the attractive “Arena Sport channels”, which are also being broadcasted in BiH.
Source: rs.seebiz.eu
