Commissioner of the Communications Commission Ekaterine Imedadze and ComCom representatives took part in the four-lateral summit of the regional networks of regulators for electronic communications held in Croatia. The objective of the annual summit was to deepen the cooperation between countries in the field of electronic communications, share their experiences and implement joint projects. In her speech at the summitCommissioner Ekaterine Imedadze highlighted the achievements and challenges in the field of electronic communications in Georgia and other EaPeReg countries.

The four-lateral summit brings together four leading networks from the telecommunications industry – the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC), the European Mediterranean Regulators Group (EMERG), the Eastern Partnership Electronic Communications Regulators Network (EaPeReg), and the Latin American Forum of Telecommunications Regulators (REGULATEL). 

The summit included two panel discussions involving representatives of the participating regulatory bodies and telecom industry experts who discussed the significance of broadband internet and the achievements in this field. Commissioner Ekaterine Imedadze spoke on behalf of EaPeReg during thepanel discussion. The panel (Connectivity and Digital Divide) was moderated by the Commission of Irish Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) Jeremy Godfrey. Participants included ARCEP Executive Board member Emmanuel Gabla (France), OSIPTEL Chairman Rafael Muente Schwarz (Peru) and NTRA representative Mahmoud Hatem (Egypt).

The report delivered by the Communications Commission concerned the importance of an open telecommunications market. More specifically, it was underlined that development of the digital economy and availability of high quality internet services are achievable whenever there is a fair competitive environment for all players on the market. European countries have already completed this path – the sharing of networks and infrastructure allowed them to achieve rapid development of innovative services. Georgia and other Eastern Partnership countries have the ambition to develop the telecommunications sector quickly and effectively through a harmonised regulatory environment. Close cooperation with organisations such as BEREC and other regulators is of particular importance in this process.