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...

On 13 August 2019, the Communications Commission received an application for broadcasting authorisation from Formula Ltd. The Commission examined the submitted documents and found several mandatory pieces of information to be missing. Formula have already been informed about this issue. In accordance with the legislation, the company has been given five working days to correct the errors. The documents submitted by the company contained the following errors: the application did not contain a...

The Media Academy of the Communications Commission held a workshop for journalists representing television companies and online publications on the subject of storytelling methods on social media. Journalists worked with an experienced trainer on using modern technologies to create multimedia products and placing them on social media platforms in an effective manner. The training course addressed specific issues such as coverage strategy, audience analysis and storytelling methods that achieve...

We believe that what we saw on Rustavi-2 on 7 July has nothing to do with freedom of speech and expression. The form and content of the statements made on the programme “P.S.” were unethical and unseemly. Hate speech and anti-state comments that are designed to incite violence constitute a grave threat to our country and our citizens. Furthermore, the insulting and provocative statements made by the Rustavi-2 journalist exceed the internationally recognised professional...

19 month project with over 190 expert missions of Lithuanian, German and Polish experts helped define Georgian secondary legislation and guidelines on communications in line with EU standards.  On Friday, 5th July 2019, the Closing Conference of EU-funded Twinning Project” Supporting the Georgian National Communication Commission (GNCC) in developing of its electronic communications regulatory framework and operational capacities in line with EU regulatory framework”...