Montenegro, Joint use of electronic communication infrastructure contributed to better coverage of broadband access

Published on 3. April 2023., News

The joint use of electronic communication and other infrastructure, which is an important prerequisite for the efficient development of electronic communications, is highly prevalent among operators in Montenegro, the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (EKIP) announced.

From EKIP, they said that the operators are currently using telecommunications cable ducting in a length of 710 kilometers, which is twice as much as in 2015, space on 333 antenna poles, i.e. 55 percent of the total number, space in 228 telecommunications facilities, i.e. 31 percent. Of the total number, as well as public lighting poles in eight municipalities, while the common use of electronic communication infrastructure is constantly increasing.

They stated that the development of electronic communications is conditioned by the existence of appropriate infrastructure that serves to accommodate electronic communication networks and their associated elements through which operators provide electronic communication services.

“Modern electronic communication services can only be provided through electronic communication networks that have the ability to support new technologies (FTTx, 4G, 5G), and the prerequisite for the installation and operation of such networks is the existence of appropriate infrastructure, both electronic communication and other that is able to support it,” the statement said.

EKIP said that electronic communication operators, who do not have the necessary infrastructure, are enabled to develop and build their electronic communication networks quickly and with lower costs, using the electronic communication infrastructure of other operators and owners of communal and other infrastructure.

They reminded that the Law on Electronic Communications prescribed the obligation of joint use of electronic communication infrastructure in such a way that operators are obliged to enable the same in accordance with the available capacities, if such use is technically feasible and does not cause interference.
Also, the Law on the use of physical infrastructure for the installation of high-speed electronic communication networks prescribes the joint use and coordinated construction of physical infrastructure (pipes, poles, lines, monitoring rooms, shafts, cabinets, buildings or entrances to buildings, antenna installations and antenna poles and carriers), which improved the efficiency of the development of high-speed electronic communication networks and the application of new technologies with reduced costs.

“In this way, electronic communication networks are put into operation faster, costs are reduced, cultural assets and space are protected, as one of the most important resources,” said EKIP.

They added that the joint use of electronic communication infrastructure contributed to better coverage of broadband access networks in Montenegro, so that currently 85.12 percent of households are covered by fixed broadband Internet access, mobile broadband access by 97 percent of the population, while as many as 78.46 percent connections available to households with Internet access speeds higher than 100 Mb/s.

“The representation of technologies with which households are covered by fixed broadband Internet access is 71 percent FTTx (access network with optical fibers), 69 percent VDSL (fast digital subscriber line), 49 percent HFC (hybrid optical-coaxial network) and 18 percent ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line), while the coverage of FTTx connections, as the most modern ones, is constantly increasing”, they stated from EKIP.

Data on the availability of existing electronic communication infrastructure and plans for the construction of a new one are of great importance in the process of planning and building new electronic communication networks.

“In order to provide electronic communication operators and other subjects with the availability of data on electronic communication infrastructure, EKIP has developed a Geoportal, which is available at the Internet address http://geoportal.ekip.me.” Operators are obliged to regularly submit data on their electronic communication infrastructure to EKIP, and the Agency publishes that data on the Geoportal,” the announcement states.
The Geoportal contains data on the existing and planned infrastructure of the operators, as well as on the coverage of broadband Internet access by technology, speed and number of operators that provide this service.

Through the Geoportal, 5.05 thousand kilometers of telecommunication cable sewerage, i.e. 7.94 thousand kilometers of underground telecommunication cable pipes, 606 antenna poles, 1.28 thousand buildings where electronic communication equipment is located (729 buildings/objects and 552 external cabinets) were mapped. , 3.47 thousand kilometers of aerial cables and 53.62 thousand lighting poles and energy poles on which aerial telecommunication cables are attached.

Apart from operators and EKIP, the Geoportal is also available to employees of ministries, municipalities, secretariats, agencies and companies who work on the tasks of issuing urban technical conditions, spatial planning and construction of buildings and roads, spatial planning and communal infrastructure management.