The license to use the radio frequency spectrum in Georgia passes through a full life cycle: beginning with issuance, continuing through transfer of the right, modification, and cancellation, and ending with the special rules for assigning frequencies. If you plan to operate spectrum or already hold a license, this page sets out the legal conditions of every stage of that cycle — from terms to the circumstances in which a license is cancelled.
Issuance and term of validity
The license is issued by the commission by auction or competition, in accordance with the relevant laws and the auction regulation approved by the commission's decree. The license is issued for a term of ten years. The holder may apply to the commission for extension one month before expiry — and if the use of the spectrum is carried out in accordance with the rules established by law, the term is extended by commission decision for a further ten years. Upon expiry of the term, the license is deemed cancelled. The license also carries a duty of use: the holder must use the scarce resource defined by the license in accordance with legislation and the conditions set by the commission's issuance decision, and ensure its optimal and effective use — including through the introduction of innovative electronic communication technologies. Unused spectrum is thus in the risk zone.
Transfer of the right to another person
The license holder may transfer the right to use the spectrum to any person, fully or partially, by way of direct assignment — without holding an auction. The parties conclude an assignment agreement, and the commission opens a public administrative proceeding on the basis of a joint application. The new holder may begin using the spectrum only after the assignment decision and after passing authorization in the manner defined by law. Assignment may be restricted: where the acquiring person owes arrears of the regulation fee to the commission or of the resource usage fee to the state budget; where the person would become holder of more than the maximum quantity of radio frequency resource determined by the commission on the basis of study and analysis; or where the resource serves end users and the recipient does not confirm the obligation to continue providing the service under the concluded contracts. In the first and third cases the proceeding resumes after the new holder fully performs the obligations.
Modification and cancellation
The license may be modified where electronic communications legislation changes, or upon a substantiated request of the commission or the holder. The grounds for cancellation are precisely listed: the holder's request; cessation of use of the spectrum and of practical activity for more than three consecutive months or for six months within one year; failure to begin practical activity within the term set in the license; and violation of license conditions — continuation of an ongoing violation after a fine, or a new one-time violation within one year of the fine. Only the commission may cancel, and upon cancellation the paid fee is not returned.
Special cases of assigning frequencies
The law distinguishes several regimes. For the amateur service, bands are allocated under the international radio regulations and the commission assigns call signs to radio amateurs; it assigns call signs and identification marks to sea vessels, while the international distress signal of a vessel in distress requires no assignment. An unauthorized person who needs frequencies for auxiliary technological use receives them from the commission under a simplified administrative procedure, temporarily — for a term of one year, against payment of a fee. An authorized person, for auxiliary technological, non-commercial purposes, may be assigned a frequency or segments of a radio relay network or line without auction — upon application, for a term not exceeding fifteen years. Knowing these different routes lets you choose the mechanism that answers your technical task.
Harmonized bands and technological neutrality
For effective spectrum management, the commission ensures the national harmonization of harmonized frequency ranges — under the technical norms defined by European Commission decisions — by amending the national allocation plan and modifying usage licenses. In these ranges licenses are issued under the principle of technological and service neutrality, for a term of fifteen years: the holder may change technology provided the technical norms are observed. The fee of a modified license is recalculated — amounts already paid are credited proportionally — and the holder may request modification for only part of the resource, conceding the rest, or refuse modification entirely and cease use, in which case the paid fee is not returned.
The fee payment schedule and change of frequency
The procedure and schedule for paying the fee of a modified license are set by the commission, and the schedule must not require payment of more than fifty percent of the fee within one year — a rule that protects the holder's balance. When the national plan changes, the commission may replace a frequency assigned to an authorized person with another, without a right to claim compensation; a resource granted under a license may be replaced within the same band with an equivalent resource, against a substantiated claim for coverage of incurred costs. Where plan changes make the coexistence of existing and new frequencies impossible, the commission may decline to extend the term — notifying the holder at least three years before expiry — or extend it for a term of less than ten years; surrender of the resource is possible against compensation, whose amount rests on the conclusion of an international audit company and covers the proportional value of the remaining term and the surrendered resource plus the cost of dismantling or modifying the network.