The Communications Commission held a training course for primary school teachers from 10 public and private schools on the subject of the “Media Economics” teaching method. Representatives from the Commission’s Department for Development of Media Literacy introduced the teachers to the project syllabus. Director of the media education centre Zaffiria, Alessandra Falconi, helped devise the lessons and adapt them to Georgian schools. The “Media Economics” project has...

On 17 October, the Communications Commission ruled that Caucasus Online sold its shares unlawfully and must revert its shareholding to the pre-sale status quo. According to the Georgian legislation, authorised entities must inform the Commission about any intentions to sell more than 5% of their shares and obtain the Commission’s approval. Caucasus Online sold its shares without informing the Commission, thereby violating the legislation. The company must revert its shareholding to the...

To evaluate the quality of mobile communications services, the Communications Commission has published a document on the recommended quality indicators for such services. The consultation document proposes methodology, as well as indicators. According to the BEREC Preliminary Report in View of a Common Position on Monitoring Mobile Coverage (BoR (17) 186, 6 October 2017), there are various methods for measuring the quality of mobile coverage. Furthermore, based on international practice, there...

The Media Academy of the Communications Commission held a three-day workshop for journalists, titled “How do we conduct Coverage of Business and Economic News?” Media representatives worked with the Governor of the National Bank of Georgia Koba Gvenetadze and economic expert Revaz Sakevarishvili on issues such as the coverage of economic news, capability analysis, as well as the role of business and the economy in our everyday lives. Mr. Gvenetadze talked about the current...

On 8 July 2019, the communications Commission published a consultation document on the subject of supporting 5G development in Georgia. The document includes a plan for allocating 5G frequencies and regulating accompanying issues. The Commission received questions and comments regarding the consultation document from telecommunications companies and individual stakeholders alike. To ensure that the 5G implementation and development process in Georgia proceeds properly, it is important to...

The Communications Commission held a training course for primary school teachers on the subject of “Hello Ruby” – a successful Finnish series of books that have been adopted by 25 countries. From October 2019, Georgian pupils will also be able to use the books to learn the basics of computer sciences. Public and private school teachers attending the training course familiarised themselves with the teaching method that is based on the books Adventures in Coding and Journey...

On 5 September, the Communications Commission changed Mtavari Arkhi’s authorisation status from ‘specialised entertainment broadcaster’ to that of ‘general broadcaster.’ Mtavari Arkhi applied for a change in its broadcasting authorisation status on 26 August. The Commission studied the documents submitted by the broadcaster and found that they fully satisfy the legal requirements. Mtavari Arkhi has been registered at the Departmental Registry as a private general...

The Communications Commission has issued TV Pirveli with a fine of GEL 23,513.21 for unlawfully broadcasting feature films. Due to the continuous nature of the violation, the broadcaster has been fined 0.6% of its annual revenues in accordance with the legislation. Monitoring activities carried out between 29 June and 2 July 2019 established that TV Pirveli was showing feature films for which the company did not have documents confirming ownership of broadcasting rights. The company failed to...

The Communications Commission has issued broadcasting authorisation for Formula Ltd. The company has been registered at the Departmental Registry as a private general broadcaster. Formula will begin broadcasting across Georgia on 1 October. The company had initially failed to submit several mandatory legal documents for obtaining broadcasting authorisation. Therefore, the Communications Commission requested that Formula corrected the errors in the application. When the documents were brought in...

The Gurjaani Regional Court has ruled that the Network of Information Centres violated the law by failing to comply with the regulations for publishing public poll results. The case was brought back to the Gurjaani Regional Court after the Tbilisi Court of Appeals ruled that the Communications Commission had exercised its lawful right to complete the violation protocol against the Network of Information Centres. The case concerns the public poll results published by the information agency...