BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 4
By Tamilla Mammadova – Trend:
Georgia has had three mobile network operators for the past 12 years, Trend reports referring Georgian investment company Galt & Taggart.
As reported, Magticom, a traditional leader of the Georgian mobile telecom industry, had 2 million mobile subscribers (40.5 percent) as of September 19, 2019.
With the acquisition of Geocell in March 2018, Silknet, the incumbent fixed line operator, moved into second position in the mobile sector, with 34.9 percent share.
Furthermore, Veon, which has entered the Georgian telecom market in 2007, has successfully captured one quarter of Georgia’s mobile subscriber base.
Some 74.1 percent of total mobile subscribers are individuals, although the number of corporate subscribers is growing.
The number of corporate subscribers increased by 4.7 times from 2010, reaching 1.3 million. This is mostly explained by the shift of individual subscribers into corporate segment.
Total mobile revenues generated by the Georgian mobile operators reached 481.2 million lari ($162.9 million), up by 7.3 percent year-on-year in 2018.
The sector revenues notably reduced twice – in 2011 and in 2015. The drop in revenues in 2011 was associated with intensified competition in the mobile sector.
Over 2010, the number of mobile broadband subscribers in Georgia has grown rapidly, up by 4.7 times reaching, 2.6 million as of September 2019.
Despite the growth, Georgia falls behind some of the regional as well as European peers by the ratio of active mobile broadband subscriptions, Geostat said.
According to Galt & Taggart, there were 67 mobile internet sims among 100 inhabitants in Georgia in 2018, compared to average of 72 in the CIS region and 86 in Europe, but this indicator is forecasted to grow in the future.
"In line with the global trend, we expect number of mobile data users to grow in Georgia," Galt & Taggart said.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356