“I would like to emphasise that our decision to leave the region was tied to TeliaSonera’s business strategy and was in no way related specifically to the country of Georgia.” This is an extract from the letter sent by the CEO of TeliaSonera Johan Dennelid to the then-COMCOM Chairman and the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development on 16 November 2015. It seems that Gia Jokhtaberidze, who owns a 54% stake in Magticom, either forgot about these circumstances, or...

On 24 April 2020, the Communications Commission published the “Consultation Document for calculating 5G Frequency Resource Costs.” The Commission received questions from Magticom and Silknet regarding this document. As part of the consultation process, an online meeting took place on 30 June 2020 between interested parties and representatives of the consulting firm Ernst & Young, whereby operators had the opportunity to ask questions regarding cost calculations directly to the...

The Communications Commission, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Education, is starting to implement media literacy projects for students from the new academic year. The first institution to implement the joint media literacy projects is the Tbilisi State University (TSU). As part of the cooperation, TSU students and academic personnel will be involved in joint media literacy development projects. Subsequently, COMCOM plans to work with other private and state universities to develop...

The Communications Commission will start implementing media literacy projects together with the Business and Technology University (BTU) starting from the new academic year. International experts will be involved in organizing joint sessions, conferences and competitions and devising recommendations for improving the new syllabus and various other areas of media literacy. Together with academic personnel from BTU, the Commission will hold seminars and training sessions to develop media...

It is regrettable that sections of the Georgian media and non-governmental sector are trying to implement double standards in Georgia. The Communications Commission has been calling for financial transparency from broadcasters and the latter’s compliance with the Law of Georgia on Broadcasting for the past 7 years. In this process, COMCOM has encountered major resistance from some of the same organisations that are now demanding financial transparency from Facebook. On 29 June, the...

On 30 June 2020, the Communications Commission will hold an online meeting with representatives from the consulting firm Ernst & Young and other interested parties to discuss the questions which parties may have regarding the “Consultation Document for calculating 5G Frequency Resource Costs,” which was published by COMCOM on 24 April 2020. All interested parties will have an opportunity to take part in the meeting. Applications should be sent by 12:00 p.m. on 30 June 2020 to...

Magticom will be unable to abolish the 25 GEL unlimited package “Martivi 25.” The Communications Commission took a decision to this end on the back of conducting research and analysing the retail service market. As a result of the ruling, subscribers will retain the service and will also be able to activate the unlimited package after 7 July. Market research revealed that Magticom’s move to abolish the popular “Martivi 25” package and replace it with “Martivi...

The Communications Commission has issued Caucasus Online with another 270,000 GEL fine for selling shares without the prior approval of the Commission. The company has been ignoring its obligations under law and COMCOM’s decisions for the past 9 months. Caucasus Online has to revert its shareholding to the pre-sale status quo until 1 August, as well as present information about all beneficiary shareholders (including the previous beneficiary shareholders) within two weeks. The Commission...

Starting from today, Magticom, Silknet and Veon Georgia will be unable to increase the rates on mobile communications services without COMCOM’s approval. The Commission took this unprecedented and important decision to protect consumer interests and prevent the limiting of competition on the mobile communications market. The new regulation covers mobile voice and internet services, as well as short SMS messages.   COMCOM’s new regulation will guarantee that the existing...

An unprecedented 185 submissions have been received for the Communications Commission’s third media literacy competition “Truth or Fiction?” The first edition of the competition had 17 participants, while 57 pupils took part in the second edition. The number of participants has now grown eleven-fold. The goal of the competition is to develop critical thinking, analysis and fact-checking skills among youngsters, helping them distinguish real facts from fake news. Applications...