The Communications Commission held a public presentation on the results of the comprehensive study of the mobile service market. The presentation was led by ComCom member Ekaterine Imedadze and the head of the expert research group, EU expert Domagoj Jurjevic. The event was also attended by the other EU experts participating in the study – Christian Jean-Pierre Francois Marie Hosefid, Stanko Taskov and Peter Lundy. Within the framework of the meeting, participants provided the audience with detailed information about the research methodology, research circumstances, and the conclusions made by the experts, according to which the Georgian mobile communications market is uncompetitive and requires ex-ante regulation, while Magticom is an operator with significant power. 

As part of the public administrative proceedings initiated during the comprehensive study, the Commission will discuss the results of the market analysis at a public meeting on 6 June, and will make the final decision on 13 June. In the event that members of the Commission share the experts’ opinion, Magticom will be declared an operator with significant power, and appropriate obligations will be imposed. Stakeholders had the opportunity to present their opinions about the comprehensive study until 17 May. Furthermore, for two years, the Commission ensured the involvement of telecom operators at all stages of the research. 

During the presentation, Domagoj Jurjevic said that based on the results of the analysis, the Georgian market of mobile communications is uncompetitive and this circumstance will not change for at least the next three years without ex-ante regulation, causing Georgian consumers to suffer. He also noted that Magticom was assessed as an operator with significant power, and that in order to improve competition on the market, experts developed specific obligations for Magticom. 

The meeting also discussed the research methodology, based on which the EU experts, in accordance with the guidelines of market analysis of the European Commission, initially studied the retail market of mobile services, where they identified competition problems. Afterwards, the experts deemed it necessary to identify the relevant wholesale markets, where they conducted three criteria tests, through which they identified a wholesale market that is potentially subject to ex-ante regulation. Having studied the circumstances, the experts concluded that the mobile service retail market and mobile access wholesale market in Georgia are characterised by low dynamism, scarcity of innovations and a lack of progress, which in their estimation is unlikely to change for at least the next three years in the absence of ex-ante regulation. 

After the experts identified the wholesale markets that are potentially subject to regulation, an in-depth study was additionally conducted, based on which an operator with significant market power was identified and specific obligations were determined which, based on their assessment, will eliminate the uncompetitive environment on the market and create a variety of choices and affordable terms for consumers. 

The team of experts is composed of qualified personnel who have many years of experience in the telecommunications sector. Domagoj Jurjevic has 17 years of experience in telecom sector regulation and policy development. He has held leading positions in the Croatian telecom regulator HAKOM for 14 years, and has conducted 18 market analyses under the EU's electronic communications regulatory framework. He has participated in the process of developing and implementing the Electronic Communications Law. In addition, he was a member of the governing board and Vice-Chairman of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). As for Christian Jean-Pierre Francois Marie Hosefid, he has 30 years of experience working in the Directorate-General for Competition at the European Commission. Over the years, he held the positions of Head of the Sector and Chief Expert, and was involved in the introduction of new directives and preparation of relevant guidelines for the regulatory bodies of member states. He also became Chief Expert at Cullen International. He has many years of academic and practical experience in the telecom sector in the field of research, analysis and implementation of European directives. 

Another expert taking part in the research, Stanko Taskov, has 30 years of experience in IT in the field of communications. He is a technical expert and head of the IT department of the Slovenian communications regulatory authority (AKOS). In addition, he is a member of the BEREC expert group and a TAIEX expert. As for Peter Lundy, he has been working in the telecom sector for more than 30 years. He has led more than 25 projects in 40 countries on digital competitive markets, electronic communications sector policy, as well as legal, technological and regulatory reforms. He worked for many years as an economic and technical expert in the European Commission, was the leader of the EBRD team in different countries, and prepared a number of comprehensive studies in the EU member states. He also worked as an expert at Cullen International, where he carried out a project to assess the investment environment for the development of broadband infrastructure. 

In 2022, the Communications Commission, together with the experts of the European Union, with the funding of the European Union and within the framework of the assistance for the implementation of the Association Agreement between the European Union and Georgia (“AA Facility II”), started working on the comprehensive research project on the Georgian telecom market. The project serves to enhance competition on the Georgian telecommunications market, bring the regulatory framework of Georgia closer to the European framework in accordance with the obligations under the Association Agreement, as well as provide diverse, high-quality and affordable services for consumers. The comprehensive study was conducted over two years. Research of this magnitude has not been conducted on the Georgian telecom market before. The study conducted by the EU experts was also revised by the experts of TAIEX (EU Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Tool).