At a time when the European Union is recording remarkable progress in terms of the installation of very high capacity fixed network (VHCN) connections, Greece according to Eurostat figures is lagging behind.
Ως connections very high capacity is defined by Eurostat as fiber optic connections or other networks (e.g. 5G) that offer broadband services.
The European Commission has set a target for all populated areas of the member states to have VHCN connections by 2030. In 2013, high-speed connections in the EU were at a low of 16%, but by early 2022 this figure had already shot up to 70%.
Even in areas of European countries with very small populations the increase in VHCN connections is impressive since from 4% nine years ago we are now at a rate of 37%.
One would expect Greece to figure high on the relevant list given the lag of previous years in Internet connectivity. Unfortunately, the complete opposite is happening.
Our country is literally at the bottom of the list, having the lowest percentage of VHCN connections in the EU. Moreover, in areas with few inhabitants (less than 100 per square km) the coverage of "fast" Internet in Greece shows zero percentages.
Eurostat in previous report had presented her with data according to which Greece Greek Internet users pay more than any other European to connect to the Internetnetwork. Greece had a difference of 63% from the European average in terms of Internet usage prices in 2019 and was the second most expensive Internet behind Belgium.
However, the pandemic with the increased demands for Internet use offered, according to analysts, an opportunity for telecommunications service providers to increase their charges, with the result that Greece's difference is now close to 75% of the European average and rises to the top of the relative list.
The perennial distortions in competition in the telecommunications industry in Greece combined with the great reluctance at the limits of refusals in recent years of companies to invest in creation of new networks of broadband services have created this, from every point of view, sad scenario that has turned our country into a real internet pariah of Europe and the modern world in general.
