Tbilisi: Natia Kukuladze, a member of the Communications Commission, opened the three-day event organized by the US Commercial Law Development Program on the topic “Competition in the field of telecommunications”.
Along with the member of the commission, in the opening part of the event, Michael Honigstein, the head of the political and economic department of the US Embassy, ​​Eric Wentz and Nicolette Mena, representatives of the US Commercial Law Development Program, as well as Justina Paulauskaite, the advisor of the EU-Georgia twinning project, presented themselves with welcoming words.
In her opening speech, Natia Kukuladze focused on the importance of competition in the telecommunications sector and the powers of the Communications Commission in terms of competition law enforcement.
During his speech, the member of the commission spoke about the importance of cooperation between the Communications Commission and the Competition Agency, which ensures the effective enforcement of the competition legislation.
“Communications Commission, as a regulatory body in the field of electronic communications, has had certain powers in the field of competition since its inception. Amendments to the Law of Georgia “On Competition” entered into force in 2020.
The aforementioned changes determine the authority of the sectoral regulators be guided by the Law of Georgia “On Competition” and the legal acts adopted on its basis when considering possible violations of competition in the regulated sector of the economy. Implementation of post-regulation.
At the current stage, the Communications Commission is considering a complaint within the framework of the Law of Georgia “On Competition”, the study of which, in accordance with the law, It is being conducted with the involvement of the National Competition Agency of Georgia.
The Communications Commission conducts a comprehensive investigation of the market in order to make such a decision that ensures the promotion of competition in the said market and its proper functioning.
The cooperation of the regulatory bodies in the direction of improving the competitive environment will become even more effective after the adoption of the planned legislative changes.
In particular, the draft law on sharing infrastructure for electronic communications is being considered in the Parliament of Georgia. The draft law, in accordance with the European Union directive, will establish the conditions and procedure for access to the telecommunications infrastructure and the physical infrastructure used for telecommunication purposes.
The Communications Commission will be responsible for the implementation of the mentioned law, which will perform its functions in cooperation with the regulatory bodies of the relevant field,” said Natia Kukuladze.
A three-day event on the topic – “Competition in the field of telecommunications” with the support of the Embassy of the United States of America in Tbilisi, with the financing of the US Department of State and the organization of the US Commercial Law Development Program, as well as with the United States Department of Justice, the Communications Commission, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ) and is held in cooperation with the EU-Georgia twinning project.
