The coverage of the digital region has received its “heart” – the largest antenna system in the country has been installed on Vlasic.
This move marks a significant leap toward the complete coverage of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) with a digital TV signal in the DVB-T2/MPEG 4 standard, and thus the end of the decade-long struggle to bring the country from the analog phase into the digital age.
“Less noise, more picture – both in technology and in politics,” said the BiH Minister of Communications and Transport, Edin Forto.
This giant, he added, is a symbol of our determination to close the digital gap.
“Vlasic as the backbone of the network makes it possible for the signal to flow to the most populous central BiH towns. Digitalization is not a luxury; it is an infrastructure of public interest. When the picture becomes clear, it is easier to see the responsibility of all of us to raise a pillar of modernization on every peak,” Forto said.
The antenna on Vlasic, due to its height and central position, covers 22 digital regions – from Travnik, Zenica, and Zepce, through Bugojno and Jajce, to Doboj, Maglaj, Teslic, and Kotor Varos. In combination with new transmitters and converters, this location ensures a stable and reliable signal in a topographically demanding region.
“Why is this important? The digital age is finally arriving in BiH: on July 1st, 2025, terrestrial digital broadcasting of the public RTV program began in Sarajevo, Banja Luka, and Mostar, and with the introduction of the system on Vlasic, the way is opened for Zenica, Tuzla, and other regions to be included by the end of the year. Technically, it is a network of 126 new locations – 31 transmitters and 95 converters – which, together with microwave links, creates a robust infrastructure for HD signal and resistance to weather conditions,” it is stated in the announcement of the BiH Ministry of Communications and Transport.
However, BiH has so far lagged behind by almost a decade: the deadline for switching to the digital signal was 2015, and only with the signing of a new contract in January 2024 – which Minister Forto signed – did the implementation of the second and third phases of digitalization begin.
Upon completion of the works, the network of 156 locations will enable public broadcasters to offer programs in HD resolution to everyone. Forto underlined that the digital transformation of public broadcasters is not an isolated project.
“If we want a 21st-century state, we must behave as a 21st-century society,” he conveyed, emphasizing that the modernization of infrastructure goes hand in hand with reforms in public administration.
