Citizens of the Western Balkans are likely to pay less for mobile phone services within the region as of the year 2021 once their respective authorities sign a regional agreement on reducing the roaming costs. The document is set to be signed in early April this year and come into effect this July.

“If ministers sign the agreement in Belgrade, the roaming fees will be lower as of July this year and as of July 2021, the roaming would not exist at all. We're convinced that the citizens will feel the benefits of the agreement very soon,” said Pranvera Kastrati, a senior expert on economic and digital connectivity at the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC).

“Simply put, the citizens of the Western Balkans will talk more, surf more and send more text messages, and pay less.”

The RCC, a regional cooperative platform in the South-east Europe promoting mutual cooperation and European integration, said that signing of the agreement would demonstrate a strong dedication to the implementation of a digital agenda. It would also, the RCC said, open door to the reducing of roaming costs between the European Union and the Western Balkans as of the summer this year already.

Regional ministers in charge of telecommunications met last month in Brussels and agreed on the agreement text, officially called the Regional Roaming Agreement. The all-inclusive agreement would encompass all economies in the region and additionally reduce the roaming and pave the way for the Roam Like at Home initiative, a zero roaming cost initiative in July 2021.

But, due to a short deadline and obligations that have to be met beforehand, it remains uncertain if Bosnia will put its signature on the document this April.

Although the State Ministry for Transport and Communications asked for the signing of the agreement to be postponed for the end of this year, Bosnia's Presidency Chairman said Bosnia would join other countries in the region.

Speaking for the media in Brussels on Monday, Milorad Dodik announced that the authorities would enable Bosnian citizens to pay less for the roaming costs.

“The members of the Presidency and the Presidency as a whole are ready to give instructions tomorrow already and secure the acceptance of that agreement. Bosnia and Herzegovina will surely be a country that will sign that roaming agreement on April 5,” said Dodik.