Regulatory framework incompatibility in the area of environmental protection prevents the installing of cellular base stations, thereby jeopardising the expansion of capacities and the technological advancement of mobile networks
When discussing regulations in the field of telecommunications, the number one problem for us continues to be the incompatibility of the regulatory framework in the domain of environmental protection, which prevents the installing of cellular base stations, thereby jeopardising the expansion of capacities and the technological advancement of mobile networks. Regulations governing this area are not compatible with EU regulations, and the circumstances that see their implementation entrusted to local governments additionally hinders the situation as a consequence of differing practises in cities and municipalities.
Ignorance, fear or a failure of information have for years resulted in the adding of new restrictions even to regulations that are not from the field of non-ionizing radiation protection, such as urban planning documents.
On the other side, we are aware that unjustified concern exists among citizens with regard to the alleged impact of base stations on human health, which is why we should work to educate the population and present facts grounded in science.
This points to the need to reform the regulatory framework in the direction of increased transparency and gaining the trust of citizens in the controlling and measuring of the electromagnetic field, but also the simpler and swifter commissioning of base stations in accordance with standardised and predetermined procedures.
Alongside this, we also expect the adoption of the new Law on Electronic Communications by year’s end.
Online fiscalization, implemented by the Ministry of Finance, and the My Data For My Bank project, implemented by the Office for IT and eGovernment, are both excellent examples of digitalisation
When it comes to digitalisation, our committee sees an opportunity to further the digitalisation of operations in cooperation between the public and private sectors. Public administration procedures have been accelerated markedly though the interlinking of state institutions and the automating of document exchange. We believe that similar cooperation with state authorities among banks, mobile operators, insurance companies and other businesses can contribute to the increased efficiency and security of operations. Exchanging data with the Tax Administration, the Social Security Register and the Credit Bureau, with the aim of assessing actual creditworthiness and protection against fraud, enabling the verifying of the validity of an ID card through the Interior Ministry in the concluding of a contract or utilising the eGovernment’s e-Sanduče [post box] for the delivery of documents, are just a few examples of where we see that potential. Of course, a lot has been achieved already. Online fiscalization, which has been implemented by the Ministry of Finance, as well as the My Data For My Bank project [Moji podaci za banku] that’s been implemented by the Office for IT and eGovernment, both represent excellent examples.
Instituting the fifth-generation network will lead to drastic reductions in data transmission delays, which creates room to apply innovative solutions in industry. The automation and robotisation of business processes using 5G can contribute significantly to increasing productivity. Operating a large number of sensors will enable much shorter response times and reduce room for error, while the way decisions are made will be changed by basing the decision-making process on the large amounts of new data generated by those sensors. However, this is greatly dependent on the ambitions and plans of a country’s industries – from agriculture to the auto industry. At the level of private individuals as users, we are awaited by the application of 5G in various fields, from medicine to entertainment.