Following its decision not to privatise Telekom Srbija, the Serbian government is set to implement a ‘plan B’ for the telco.
Quoted in the local media, Rasim Ljajic, the minister of foreign and domestic trade and telecommunications, said that it would involve the company’s complete reorganisation, modernisation and professionalisation.
Ljajic stressed the need to act quickly, given the intense competition Telekom Srbija currently faces. He also pointed to the fact that the telco currently has 9,000 employees in Serbia, along with others in Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro, while Telenor and Vip have only 1,200 and 900 respectively.
Separately, Ljajic said that 97.8% of Serbia was now covered by digital signals, which was 2.8% more than the internationally acknowledged figure for complete digitisation. However, the aim was to achieve complete coverage, though it would be difficult to reach every house in the country.
Ljajic added that digitisation has proved to be a great investment for Serbia, with the country earning over €100 million and viewers now being able to watch an average of 15 TV channels for free.