Commissioner Natia Kukuladze opened a three-day event on the subject of “Competition in the Telecom Industry,” which was organised by the United States Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP). Opening speeches at the event were also made by the Political and Economic Counsellor to the U.S. Embassy Michael Honigstein, CLDP representatives Eric Wenz and Nicolette Mena, and the EU-Georgia Twinning Project advisor Justina Paulauskaite.

In her opening speech, Natia Kukuladze emphasized the significance of competition in the telecom sector and presented the powers of the Communications Commission to enforce competition laws. Ms. Kukuladze addressed the importance of cooperation between the Commission and the Competition Agency of Georgia which ensures effective enforcement of competition laws.

“Since its establishment, the Communications Commission, as the regulatory body in the field of electronic communications, has had certain powers with regards to competition. Amendments to the Law of Georgia on Competition, which came into effect in November 2020, clearly define the authority of sectoral regulators to use this Law as guidance in any potential cases of competition violations in the regulated sector of the economy. Therefore, the Communications Commission started implementing both ex-ante and ex-post regulation of the relevant markets. Within the scope of the Law on Competition, the Commission is currently studying a complaint concerning the broadcasting transit rights market. As the Commission prioritises issues concerning potential violation of the Law on Competition, the aforementioned issue is being handled in close cooperation with the Competition Agency of Georgia. The Commission is conducting full market research in order to take a decision that will ensure competition and orderly functioning of this market.

“Cooperation between the regulatory bodies in the field of improving the competitive environment will become even more effective after the adoption of the planned legislative changes. Specifically, the Parliament of Georgia is currently reviewing the draft law on sharing the electronic communications infrastructure. The draft law, in accordance with the Directive of the European Union, will establish the conditions and procedure for access to the telecom infrastructure and the physical infrastructure used for telecommunication purposes. This law will be implemented by the Communications Commission, which will perform its functions in cooperation with the regulatory bodies from the relevant sector,” Natia Kukuladze stated.

The three-day event on the subject of “Competition in the Telecom Industry” is organised by the United States Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) with the support of the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, with the funding from the U.S. State Department and in cooperation with the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the EU-Georgia Twinning Project.