Constantinidis (OTE): The high rate of coverage with FTTIS, indicating that the gap with Europe is bridged

For the implementation of the Group’s investment plan covering 2/3 of the country with Fiber To The Home (FTTI) by 2027, the need to stimulate the penetration of this infrastructure into households and, the course in the mobile and image of the telecommunications sector in Europe, was spoken by Giannis Konstantinidis, Chief Officer of Strategy, Transformation and Providers of OTE Group, at 26 the Conference “Infocom World”. Regarding the coverage of the country with FTTH, Mr. Constantinidis said that OTE Group is inflexibly implementing the roll-out of its investment plan, to reach 3 million lines by 2027, while giving the picture for 2024. “In OTE Group we estimate that by the end of the year we will have covered more than 1.7 million households and businesses, which corresponds to a coverage rate of 36% in our entire market. If this percentage includes the roll-out of other providers, we will reach a total coverage of 2.3 million lines, i.e. about 48% of the country as a whole.” The high rate of coverage, as Mr. Constantinidis pointed out, is an important indication that the gap with the rest of Europe in this field is gradually bridged: “We add 10-12 percentage points every year and we have reached halfway. At this rate, within the next three years we will have reached 80% of the country. Therefore, the issue of covering the fibre optic network has been launched’. Constantinidis also pointed out that OTE Group’s investment plan includes the project “Ultra-Fast Broadband super-high broadband infrastructure”, which will bring speeds of 1Gbps to semi-national and rural areas of the country. As he said, this is a very important project to bridge the digital gap between the major urban centres and the province, as “the broadband concerns everyone”. Speaking of demand, OTE Group’s strategy leader noted that although Greece is not yet at the desired levels, the demand for FTTH is moving up and is expected to be further stimulated. As key stimulus factors it indicated, inter alia, the forthcoming Gigabit Voucher announced by the State, the abolition of the fixed tax on FTTH services, as well as the agreement between telecommunications providers for discounts on wholesale FTTH prices. Constantinidis stood particularly in the pivotal role of this agreement, for the penetration of FTTH and the digital transformation of the country: “through the discounts we give, we provide incentives for all providers to increase the pace at which they transfer their customers, from the copper networks, to the FTTH networks.” At the same time, Mr. Constantinidis highlighted the impact of this agreement on the return on the investments of the providers: “the more we fill our network with FTTH retail and wholesale customers, the more we increase the use of our network (utilization), the closer we come to seeing the return of the big investments we make, to have a positive signal.” Regarding mobile, Mr. Constantinidis said that OTE Group is leading this sector, as the nationwide population coverage of COSMOTE 5G network exceeds 99%. The discussion did not miss COSMOTE 5G+, the Stand-Alone (SA) technology network, which COSMOTE first marketed in Greece, with its nationwide population coverage at 50%. As Mr. Constantinidis stressed, the company’s target for population coverage at the end of 2024 is 60%, with the further development of 3.5 GHz frequencies. In addition, Chief Officer of Strategy, Transformation and Providers of OTE Group noted that the new 5G SA network and 3.5GHz frequencies are the basis on which the Group plans solutions Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). As he said, the aim with the FWA is to offer high broadband speeds, either as a permanent solution to areas not covered by optical fibre, or as a transitional solution to areas where the optical fibre will be delayed. The debate ended with the image of the European telecommunications industry, with Mr. Constantinidis pointing out, that although in recent years, according to the stock exchange indicators, the industry is substituting in relation to the rest of the market, it seems that the landscape, even gradually, is changing. For Mr Konstantinidis, the main reason for the gradual transformation of the industry is the apparent construction of another concept by the European leadership on how telecommunications should be handled. According to Mr Konstantinidis, the Draghi report and the White Paper adopted by the EU have contributed to this. A common denominator to all these ‘voices’, as he commented, is that the competitiveness of European telecommunications companies passes through the creation of larger European providers, which achieve the necessary economies of scale, and through a more uniform European regulatory framework, with an emphasis on creating a favourable environment for the necessary investments in the industry. Constantinidis also noted that investors themselves, who realize that investment in telecommunications is long-term and that over time it will begin to pay off. “This fills us with optimism. That all our investments create a long-term benefit not only to us, but also to our clients.” he said by closing. COSMOTE first in Greece presented pilot speeds up to 50Gbps The future of FTTH revealed first in Greece COSMOTE Fiber, the largest fiber optic network in the country. In the context of the “Infocom World 2024” Conference it presented symmetrical speeds of fixed Internet up to 50Gbps, following pilot tests with its network equipment. This is the 50G-PON technology, which is expected to support a future application and use ecosystem, offering new, upgraded digital experiences in areas such as entertainment, gaming, education and telemedicine. COSMOTE continues to develop its networks intensively, preparing them so that they can meet not only today’s needs but also the future needs of households and businesses. “Obitually COSMOTE goes on to upgrades Fiber to the Home infrastructure to support speeds up to 10Gbps”.