Nezavisne novine: Each third BiH citizen has in 2008. used the internet, which is the increase of about 30% in relation to the last year, shows the data of the Regulatory Communication Agency (RAK).
According to this data, there were 1.307.585 internet users in 2008., or 336.163 internet subscribers. Total of 66 internet service providers have been registered by RAK, which is by six more than in 2007.
It is interesting that the revenues in 2008., despite of a strong growth of internet, are almost the same as for 2007., which is being interpreted in RAK as that it has come to improving of services with the reduction of prices because of the liberalization of market.
Namely, internet providers have in 2008. collected 52.038.000 KM, while 51.623.000 KM in 2007.
Just to compare, in relation to 2006., revenues in 2007. have been increased by 20 million KM. RAK estimates that because of a further trend of liberalization and modernization, prices of internet services and speed of the internet should drop.
Still, the biggest is a number of dial-up users, or the users of slow internet providers, whose part on market is 44%. However, number of dial-up users is smaller in relation to 2007. by 1/4, because a huge number of users has in that period transferred to a broadband internet of high speed.
Big increase has also been recorded in the area of wireless internet, thanks to which the number of internet users in rural areas in which there is no wire-infrastructure, has been ensured.
Internet providers have been providing the services of wireless internet by speeds of 64 to 4096 kb/s, while an average price was 15 KM per month, plus VAT. Digital subscription line, or using the telephone line for internet access, out of which the most known is ADSL, is a mostly used broadband internet service.
It provides speeds from 384 to 4096 kb/s, and average price in 2008. was 17 KM plus VAT. The cable internet is also present. Last year, it was around 16 KM plus VAT.
"Telekom Srpske" has in 2008. had 23.282 users of the ADSL packets, which is an increase by 375% in relation to 2007.
"This year, there has also been planned the introduction of an interactive IP television through ADSL technology", has been said by Aida Halilović, spokesperson of "M:tel".
Zoran Gajić, director of the IT company "EXIT Consulting", says that 2008. has brought a real internet bum in BiH, and that selling of "Telekom", as the only less expensive broadband internet has contributed to it.
"In that time, a huge number of portals and websites in our language has been created, and this has strongly made the internet offer rich", Gajić has said.
He says that the reduction of prices will depend on further growth of users, and warns that it is possible in the next period to expect some concentrations of market. On local language, according to him, there is a lack of educative contents, and popularization of internet has been contributed by the sites as are Facebook and Skype.