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ComCom Initiates a Study to Develop IP Peering and IXP to Harness Georgia’s Potential as a Digital Hub
The Communications Commission has initiated a study to examine the barriers to the development of advanced interconnection (IP peering) services and internet exchange points (IXPs) in Georgia. The project aims to identify and eliminate the obstacles to market development in order to strengthen the competitive environment and provide consumers with an improved internet service, which will in turn strengthen the local digital ecosystem and increase Georgia's potential to become a regional digital hub. As part of the project, the experts involved in the study held working meetings with Magticom, Silknet, Akhali Kshelebi, Caucasus Online, and representatives of small and medium-sized operators, conducting in-depth interviews to analyse practices, restrictions, and market specifics.
Within the framework of the project, the Communications Commission will study the established practices in the local IP interconnection market in order to learn how the operators exchange the internet resources with each other, to what extent direct interconnection is accessible, and what difficulties are faced by the industry representatives. In addition, the Commission will assess the conditions for accessing local, cached and global content, which affects the internet speed, quality, and user satisfaction. The study will also include an analysis of the factors hindering the full development of IXP infrastructure in Georgia, and a study of international practices, which will help the Communications Commission develop the appropriate supporting mechanisms.
The project is being implemented by the Communications Commission with the support of Plum Consulting Paris SAS, an international consulting company that has been working in the field of telecommunications and digital regulation for many years. Highly qualified experts Sam Wood, Grant Forsyth and Mike Blanche are involved in the study.
Grant Forsythe is a partner at Plum, with 30 years of experience in telecommunications and digital policy consulting. He specialises in market analysis, technology trend assessment and competitive landscape research. Grant Forsythe has led projects for the European Commission and ENISA. In addition, he served as an elected board member of the Domain Name Support Organization (DNSO) at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN) for over five years. He was also a member of the Internet Council of New Zealand (INZ).
Mike Blanche is an expert at Plum Consulting with 30 years of experience in the field of internet infrastructure. His experience covers the technical, commercial and public policy aspects of internet networks across the telecom operators, internet service providers, content and application providers, and internet exchange points. Mike worked 14 years at Google as Head of Telecommunications Strategic Relations, where he developed the global strategy for peering and content delivery platforms. He has also been the Executive Director of the London Internet Exchange Board for over eight years.
Sam Wood is a director at Plum Consulting with over a decade of experience in the telecom, media and technology sectors. He specialises in the practical application of economic theory to the analysis of these sectors. Sam has also worked on topics such as the telecom market, digital advertising, cybersecurity, platform competition and online harm. In 2019, Sam worked as an economist at the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to develop policy on tackling online harm.
The development of IXP improves the quality of the internet, which is especially critical for users of services such as online gaming, video conferencing and cloud platforms, where even minimal latency determines the extent of user satisfaction. IXP also reduces operational costs by exchanging traffic locally, replacing costly international transit, allowing operators to invest more in infrastructure and innovation. Furthermore, IXP will help strengthen the local digital ecosystem. Specifically, it will facilitate the development of local content and services, create a platform for international content providers (Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and others) to host their servers in a neutral location, and attract large global internet providers to the country, which will increase Georgia's potential as a regional digital hub. In addition, IXP will help strengthen cybersecurity in the country, especially with regards to detecting cyberattacks and accelerating the response to them.
