OTE Group increases its investments in the development of Next Generation Networks in fixed and mobile telephony to €1.5 billion over the four-year period 2017-2020. Despite the difficult economic climate, the Group increases its investment plan by €200 million, laying optical fibers and contributing to the country's technological development. Having already invested over €2 billion in the past six years, the Group is by far the largest investor in telecommunications infrastructure in Greece.
It is worth noting that these amounts do not include the Group's additional investments in television spectrum and services.
The President and CEO of OTE, Mr. Michalis Tsamaz, stated in this regard: "We are creating the networks of the future, which will meet the needs of households and businesses in the modern digital era. We contribute to the national effort for recovery, developing infrastructure that will boost the Greek economy and create growth prospects. It is our strategic decision to increase our investments to €1.5 billion by the end of 2020, so that our country can achieve the goals set by the EU for broadband. With technology, we seek to create a better world for all."
High goals for 2017
By investing dynamically, in 2017, OTE intends to further develop new generation networks, increasing population coverage, boosting mobile internet speeds and offering new capabilities and services.
In fixed, OTE Group is laying optical fibers to provide ultra-high speeds to fixed internet through Vectoring technology within the year, once this is permitted by the regulatory authority. It already provides access to VDSL speeds of up to 50 Mbps to 46% of the population, with the coverage of the COSMOTE VDSL network constantly increasing. The ultimate goal and an integral part of OTE Group's technological plans is for optical fiber to reach the home (Fiber to the Home).
In mobile, the population coverage of the COSMOTE 4G network already stands at 93%, remaining No. 1 by a large margin from the competition, and of the 4G+ network at 82%. Recently, the Group made available to consumers, first in Greece and among the first in the world, speeds of up to 500 Mbps in Athens, Thessaloniki and other areas. Thanks to the Group's investments, the expansion of the service throughout the country will proceed at a rapid pace.
The Rural Broadband project, which will provide broadband services to 2,247 remote areas in Northern and Southern Greece, will be completed in 2017. The project is progressing rapidly, having already reached 90% of its construction, while VDSL speeds of up to 50Mbps have already been commercially available in over 250 settlements. The project was designed by the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Posts and is being implemented through a public-private partnership (PPP) in collaboration with the Information Society S.A.
Finally, the major project of transforming the fixed network to All IP across the Group's infrastructure and services is expected to be completed in 2017. Its goal is to improve the customer experience by providing top-quality IP telephony, high definition (HD) voice and value-added services, as well as operational efficiency.
