The Communications Commission has approved new regulations to achieve transparency and active stakeholder involvement in the process of making decisions that are particularly important for the telecom industry. Based on the new regulations, the process of regulating the telecom sector will be even more transparent and efficient, which will ultimately have a positive impact on the interests of both the industry and the consumers. 

Based on the approved procedure, the Communications Commission will hold public consultations in resolving important issues in the field of electronic communications, such as carrying out market analysis for the purpose of ex-ante regulation of the competition and taking appropriate regulatory measures, issuing radio frequency spectrum licenses through auctions, and issuing by-laws. Prior to making decisions on these issues, the draft act, along with the relevant information will be published on the website of the Communications Commission and stakeholders will have the opportunity to submit their written opinions within at least 30 calendar days. In addition, a unified information space will be created on the Commission's website, where documents related to public consultations will be regularly published, including draft decisions, written submissions from stakeholders and responses from the Communications Commission. 

The new regulations on public consultation are in full compliance with the European best practices. They are also based on the recommendations outlined in the EU-funded twinning project “Supporting the Georgian National Communications Commission in Developing its Electronic Communications Regulatory Framework and Operational Capacities,” the main purpose of which was to approximate the Georgian legislation in the field of electronic communications with the EU law. Both the telecom operators and NGO sector representatives were actively involved in the process of adopting the public consultation procedure. Their comments and suggestions were taken on board by the Communications Commission.