At € 1,5 billion, OTE Group increases its investments in the development of New Generation Networks in fixed and mobile telephony over the four-year period 2017-2020. Despite the difficult economic climate, the Group increases its investment plan by € 200 million, passing fiber and contributing to the country's technological development. Having already invested more than € 2 billion over 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 investment in television spectrum and services.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Group OTE, Mr. Michalis Chamaz, said in this regard: "We create them networks of the future, which will meet the needs of households and businesses in the modern digital age. We contribute to the national effort for recovery, developing infrastructures that will give impetus to 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 make a better world for everyone."
High goals for 2017
Investing dynamically, within the 2017 Group OTE intends to further develop new generation networks, increasing population coverage, boosting mobile internet speeds and offering new capabilities and services.
On the fixed line, OTE Group is laying optical fibers to make ultra-high speeds on fixed internet available within the year through Vectoring technology, as soon as this is allowed by the regulatory authority. Already, it provides access at VDSL speeds of up to 50 Mbps to 46% of the population, with VDSL network coverage COSMOTE to increase continuously. The ultimate goal and an integral part of OTE Group's technological plans is Fiber to the Home.
On the mobile, the population coverage of the COSMOTE 4G network already stands at 93%, remaining NO1 with a big difference from the competition, and the 4G + network at 82%. Recently, the Group made available to consumers, first in Greece and the world's first, speeds up to 500 Mbps in Athens, Thessaloniki and other regions. Thanks to the Group's investments, the expansion of the service across the country will proceed at a rapid pace.
Within 2017, the Rural Broadband project will be completed for the provision of broadband services at 2.247 remote locations in Northern and Southern Greece. The project is progressing fast, having already reached 90% of its construction, while VDSL 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 implemented through a public-private partnership (PPP) in cooperation with the Information Society SA.
Finally, within 2017 it is expected to complete the major project of transforming the fixed network to All IP across the entire scope of the Group's infrastructure and services. Its goal is the best customer experience by providing top quality IP telephony, high Definition (HD) voice and value-added services, but also operational efficiency.
