To €1,5 billion, OTE Group increases its investments for the development of New Generation Networks in fixed and mobile the four-year period 2017-2020. Despite the difficult financial situation, the Group increases its investment plan by €200 million, laying optical fibers and contributing to the technological development of the country. 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 for spectrum and services television.
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Group OTE, Mr. Michalis Tsamaz, said: "We are creating the 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 the 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.
At the fixed rate, OTE Group passes fiber to provide ultra-high speeds to the fixed internet through Vectoring technology as soon as this is allowed by the regulator. Already, it provides access to VDSL speeds up to 50 Mbps in 46% of the population, with coverage of the VDSL COSMOTE network increasing continuously. The ultimate goal and integral part of the OTE Group's technology projects is Fiber to the Home (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, 2017 is expected to complete the major transformation project of the All IP fixed network across the Group's infrastructure and services. Its goal is to provide the best customer experience by delivering high-quality IP telephony, high definition (HD) voice and value-added services, as well as operational efficiency.
