Country profile: Georgia

As a country that borders both Azerbaijan and Turkey, Georgia would benefit enormously from increased traffic along newly-built cables connecting Europe and Asia via the Caucasus region.

A key part of Georgia’s attraction as a digital hub and transit point is its highly advance FTTP/FTTH network. As early as 2023, 91% of Georgia’s fixed broadband users were connected via fibre, giving total fibre penetration in the country at a level around 85-90% - a number far in advance of most European countries and among the highest figures in the world.

This figure is thanks to considerable investment in connectivity projects both in urban and rural areas, as well as intense competition between the two largest ISPs Magticom and Silknet to build out urban FTTH in the capital Tbilisi and other densely populated areas. There has also been middle mile and backbone investment, particularly from infra provider NewTelco Georgia who have also operated a neutral data centre in Tbilisi since 2016.

While urban FTTP is more or less ubiquitous, it is a different story in rural areas. Some of Georgia’s more mountainous areas have fibre coverage under 20%, but there are programmes to address this, including an EU-backed, €34 million partnership for rural connectivity investment launched in 2019.