The beginning of a new century is the point when one reflects on the days gone by and those to come...
And now, together with all of you we wish to review and evaluate the path that MagtiCom has traveled and the work that it has performed. Let us consider together what we have been able to achieve and what we have in hand with which to meet the new millennium.
Let us look back in time and recall how things were five years ago when MagtiCom began its activities as an operator. Everyone will remember that at that time a great deal of courage was required to start up a new business in Georgia, especially the one requiring a large investment. More so as the business, along with sizeable capital investment, requires experience, a thorough knowledge of state of the art technologies and, of course, hard work.
September 1997 - the beginning of the company's operational activities with various forecasts... Optimism was there along with trust in the future of the company; pessimism with skeptical ideas was also present. Obviously, time has given appropriate qualification to everything and after the years of past experience, we can proudly declare that the result of all the hard work and commitment is apparent - today MagtiCom is a leader!
Why shouldn't we take pride in the fact that no one in Georgia today is surprised at the existence of a high quality communication system; that our subscribers can easily make contact with all the regions of the country because nearly the whole of Georgia is covered by the state of the art MagtiCom network. We were the first in Kakheti, Racha, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Svaneti... We were the first to reach Gudauri, Bakuriani and Kazbegi. More than 90 percent of the Georgia's populated territory is already covered by MagtiCom and this is the widest coverage area in Georgia.
MagtiCom was the first to introduce the very latest technologies and
has introduced new systems in the Georgian mobile communication market
- two 900/1800 MHz frequencies for servicing the GSM standard, voice mail,
a roaming service on the American continent (for the GSM 1900 MHz and IDEN
standard), SIM cards which can simultaneously accept two numbers together,
advanced payment services, a prepaid scrath card system, etc. MagtiCom
was the first to create the most extensive network for user services in
the whole of Georgia. Subscribers are also able to pay their service
fee at the branches of the "Bank of Georgia".
And, indeed, "The World of Constant Connection" - the first corporate
magazine which is presented as a gift to our subscribers.
Not very long ago we launched our own satellite communication system commercially and MagtiCom became the operator of the first mobile network in Georgia with its own satellite link.
In 2001, MagtiCom was again the first mobile phone company in Georgia to introduce the mobile Internet service (WAP) which allows subscribers to access the Internet without a computer through their mobile telephones and search for information or make use of the E-mail system.
The strength of MagtiCom is determined by our young and gifted staff and, most importantly, the professionals whose level of expertise is equal to the highest international standards. I believe that everyone will agree that it is the intellectual capital that forms the basis of a country's strength and its financial stability is maintained by strong companies.
Last year our company paid more than 14 million lari to the state. In 2000, the planned revenues from the domestic output and services provided in Georgia made up 230.1 million lari. The actual payment made by MagtiCom to the budget last year amounted to 12.040 million lari, or 5.23% of the above figure. It is worthwhile noting that among private companies this is the largest single contribution to Georgia's budget. It was also our desire to have all MagtiCom’s financial indicators published in the press on a monthly basis. This initiative was innovative as well and MagtiCom became the first company in Georgia to establish transparent business principles and make the company’s activities openly available to the general public.
Along with its core activities, MagtiCom takes an active part in the public life. The company attempts, as far as possible, to provide assistance and support to Georgian art, sports, science, education and is engaged in charitable causes.
Obviously, we have also been confronted with problems that, in fact, no one can avoid. But we have always had trust in our company, the team working in MagtiCom and, of course, in our subscribers' support.
Today's MagtiCom is fundamentally different from the company it used to be three years ago - not only in terms of the quality of subscriber services, but also in the large number of services the company can offer.
MagtiCom today is one of Georgia’s largest companies and not solely in the area of communication. It has the highest number of subscribers (as of January 2001, their number exceeded 100,000), 350 employees and more than 40 offices located in Tbilisi and other areas of Georgia. The payment network is established using branches of the "Bank of Georgia". MagtiCom enjoys the cooperation of numerous strong partners, both in and outside Georgia.
2001 is not only the beginning of the new century - it could be said that it is the start of a new era in the area of communication...
And in this new century, as before, we will work to make MagtiCom subscribers proud of our common achievements and successes. We want them to take pride in the company working to international standards and, most importantly, serving the Georgian cause. We must together change the Georgia of this century and place it on a higher footing in world terms.
The path taken by Magticom together with our subscribers, the years that we have gone through together with you, make us hopeful of the future because it is your support that made our work fruitful and the success attainable. I want to express my immense gratitude for your support and loyalty.
GIA JOKHTABERIDZE
Amounts Paid to the State Economy
of Georgia by
MagtiCom Ltd. during year 2000
(Amount in GEL)
| Withholding Tax
(foreign national's income tax 10%) |
604,428.47 |
| VAT | 9,963,532.67 |
| Income Tax | 530,408.76 |
| Land tax | 721.40 |
| Property tax | 368,903.00 |
| Property transfer tax | 12,601.36 |
| Entrepreneur tax | 483,826.00 |
| Social Security tax | 763,532.92 |
| Customs tax | 157,812.71 |
| Employment fund | 27,505.57 |
| Health fund | 109,470.28 |
| Interest tax | 19,044.83 |
| Advertisement Tax | 25,932.90 |
| Local fees | 30,710.00 |
| Highway Fund Tax | 416,768.00 |
| Supervisory Service
of Communication and Post |
238,340.00 |
| National Regulatory Commission for
Communication and Post |
280,191.52 |
| Total | 14,033,730.39 |