Investments in optical fibers (FTTH), prices in telecommunications services and pending subsidies were discussed, among other things, in a meeting held between the Minister of Digital Governance, Dimitris Papastergiou and the heads of telecoms companies.
PPC’s entry into telecommunications
PPC has recently announced that it is entering the sector of telecommunications with the construction of a FTTH network (to homes and businesses) which it will sell wholesale. The goal of its subsidiary, PPC FiberGrid, is for the FTTH network to reach 500,000 households and businesses at the end of 2024 and 1.7 million in 2025.
In total, PPC intends to offer optical fiber coverage to 3 million households and businesses across the country within the next five years with investments of 680 million euros in the period 2024-2026.
Providers’ investment programs
Papastergiou was informed by the providers about how their investment programs are progressing, while he spoke about the need for services to be offered at affordable prices.
Special emphasis was placed on cooperation with the providers so that Greece will improve its position in the European fixed telephony indicators, offering a higher quality of services at competitive prices, both in the urban centers and in the other areas through the Ultra Fast Broadband program.
In the coming years, investments in infrastructure and services are of primary importance both for the Ministry of Digital Governance and for telecommunications providers. In this context, it was agreed to immediately submit plans for the expansion of optical fiber networks, in order to map the promotion of broadband in time and space, which is also a key development factor for the country’s connectivity.
Reductions in prices
On their part, the providers also referred to the recent price reductions, and especially with regard to mobile data. For this reason, they quoted a study published by the National Telecommunications and Posts Commission (EETT), which records the downward trend in tariffs.
OTE’s plan
So far the largest investment program in optical fiber has been implemented by OTE. At the end of 2023, 1.331 million homes and businesses had access to the FTTH network, and it is expected to reach around 1.8 million by the end of 2024. This includes investments in Ultra-Fast Broadband Infrastructure (project co-financed) that will bring ultra-high Internet connection speeds of up to 1Gbps to semi-urban and rural areas of the country.
In total, OTE has announced an investment program of 3 billion euros until 2027 with the aim of covering approximately 2/3 of the country with optical fiber.
United (Nova) and Vodafone programs
United Fiber, a 100% subsidiary of the United Group to which Nova belongs, announced that 300,000 homes and 52,000 buildings have already installed FTTH. United Fiber is expected to bring fiber to 1 million households and businesses by the first quarter of 2026.
As for Vodafone Greece, its five-year plan (2024-2029) includes investments of 1 billion euros for the development of the mobile telephony network (stand alone 5G) and the extension of the fiber optic infrastructure to homes.
In fiber optic networks, Vodafone Greece has installed approximately 280,000 FTTH lines and built fiber to the cabin (FTTC) lines in almost 450,000 areas, which will gradually be converted to FTTH. The goal is to install 850,000 FTTH lines by 2027.
