ComCom Chairman Meets with Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti State Representative and Municipal Mayors to Discuss the Issue of State Internetization

Chairman of the Communications Commission, Goga Gulordava, together with ComCom member Natia Kukuladze, met with the State Representative of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, as well as the municipal mayors of Zugdidi, Khobi, Tsalenjikha, Chkhorotsku and Senaki, and the deputy mayors of Abasha and Martvili. The main topic of the meeting was the state internetization programme. The Chairman provided the mayors with detailed information on the development of broadband infrastructure in the region and the Digital Support Programme, and presented the results achieved to date. 

According to Goga Gulordava, the total volume of the completed and ongoing works under the internetization programme will reach 3,000 km of infrastructure by the end of 2025, creating new opportunities for up to 260,000 residents. He also noted that the infrastructure built by Open Net within the scope of the programme by 2025 is already being used by 18 internet service providers and 3 mobile operators, delivering services to more than 100,000 residents and over 100 schools across 14 municipalities. 

“As a result of this project, in settlements where such services were not previously available, residents will have access to e-governance, e-education, e-healthcare, e-commerce, and other modern digital services,” Mr. Gulordava stated. 

During the meeting, Goga Gulordava also spoke in detail about the Digital Support Programme, which includes free training in digital literacy and safe internet use for residents of the target settlements. “So far, we have covered 20 municipalities across 5 regions of Georgia and trained up to 12,000 individuals. The programme has already been implemented in 6 municipalities of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, and is currently ongoing in Martvili. In total, around 5,000 people have been trained across 100 villages in the region,” the ComCom Chairman noted, adding that, due to high demand, two new modules have been introduced to the programme in the shape of “AI Literacy” and “Internet for Employment,” designed for administrative staff, teachers, university students, and high school pupils.

During the meeting, the mayors discussed local challenges and issues related to mobile and fixed internet services in the region. At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Commission and the mayors agreed to cooperate closely to ensure that the needs of the region’s population are met as effectively as possible.