Kakha Bekauri: “High Cost of Telecom Services Remain a Major Challenge”

Chairman of the Communications Commission, Kakha Bekauri, summarised the activities of the Communications Comission over the past 10 years on Teleimedi, focussing on the challenges facing the telecommunications sector. According to him, despite technological progress, a number of challenges still remain in the telecom market, with the main issue being the high cost of key telecommunications services.

Kakha Bekauri noted that in recent years the Commission has been actively working to address this problem and has been implementing a number of important projects: “After completing the first stage of a holistic study, the Commission recognised Magticom as an operator with significant market power and imposed a number of obligations on it in both the fixed and mobile markets,” the ComCom Chairman stated.

According to Mr. Bekauri, the regulations have already been adopted, but challenges remain. He explained that the Commission will calculate cost-oriented prices under which smaller operators will be able to use the infrastructure of large operators, which will ultimately have a positive impact on service quality and consumers.

The ComCom Chairman also focussed on the fixed internet market, noting that in this case, in order to improve the restrictive environment, the Commission imposed tariff regulation obligations on Magticom alongside the obligation to share its network. According to him, this will ensure fair market entry conditions for companies seeking access.

During the programme, Kakha Bekauri also noted that these steps will bring Georgia even closer to its main goal of becoming a regional digital hub: “Through the Black Sea submarine cable, Georgia has a natural advantage and the opportunity to become the region’s digital hub and attract tech giants such as Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and others,” Mr. Bekauri stated.