Investments of over 3 billion euros within the next five years, between 2022 and 2027, will be materialized by OTE in Greece, one of the highest ever made by a private company in the sector of telecommunications, as it has been announced by the executives of Deutsche Telekom and OTE during their meeting in Maximos Mansion with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. These investments, which will contribute significantly to Greece’s digital transformation for the country to become a pioneer at the European level, will help the company implement its fixed network program and bring optical fiber to 3 million homes and businesses, and will upgrade the speed for free fixed broadband internet for its subscribers, significantly increasing the penetration of ultra high speeds.
“I consider the decision taken by the Deutsche Telekom Board to be a vote of confidence in the country. A vote of confidence in your excellent local team and in OTE. But also, I think a vote of confidence in our policies to really drive digitization at a much faster pace and to be leaders rather than laggards within the European landscape. And we’ve discussed numerous times the opportunities that Greece presents as a country that can be a leader in the digital transformation,” said the Prime Minister among others.
“A lot of people have decided after the pandemic that Greece is a great place to work from. But in order for us to make Greece even more appealing, we need good connectivity, with the widest possible population coverage, with the best possible prices to be competitive on that front. And I think your decision really helps us to move in that direction,” added the Prime Minister.
“We’ve made a lot of progress when it comes to mobile. I’m very, very happy to hear that we have exceeded our targets regarding 5G penetration. But of course, we always knew that we were laggards when it came to fixed line connectivity. And I’m really thrilled that you’ve taken the decision to focus on that part of the market so that we will be having, at least from OTE, three million new ultrafast connections by 2027. As you said, 600.000 connections at incredibly fast speeds per year,” added Kyriakos Mitsotakis while also applauding “the decision that you announced today that you will double the existing speeds for fixed line”.
Mr Mitsotakis also referred to Phaistos Investment Fund. “And of course, equally important is your investment in Phaistos. Phaistos is an innovative fund that is essentially recycling public money, but also private investments into a fund that will focus on the 5G ecosystem. It’s very interesting what’s happening, Tim, now in the high-tech space in Greece. It is really booming. We will have a number of Greek “unicorns”. They already exist. This was inconceivable a few years ago. So the idea of having a dedicated vehicle that will invest in the 5G space in early stage investments, also from a business point of view, eventually a capital point of view, seems to me like a reasonable, a very reasonable investment, especially given your overall presence in the country.
Concluding the Prime Minister noted “I was reminded, as I was listening to you, there’s a line in the “Top Gun” movie from 1986 where Tom Cruise says, I feel the need, the need for speed. So we all feel the need for speed, speed in terms of internet connections. The broadband. But also speed in terms of executing your business plan”.
Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges stated, among others, that “with the FTTH rapid growth strategic plan, we strongly support the vision for the digital transformation of the country and we give a vote of confidence in its development prospects. Deutsche Telekom’s investment in Greece is of strategic importance to us. Especially in recent years, the country has made great progress in all sectors, proving that it belongs to the frontrunners of Europe”.
The Minister of State and Digital Governance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, stressed that “this investment is of strategic importance for the country. Its strategic importance lies in the fact that this company essentially doubles the number of FTTH lines that it will create in the country in the coming years and thus covers the largest part of these 2 million lines which were missing from the total investment plans of the providers, but also from the state plans in which we had participated, the Ultrafast Broadband. So, now, within a reasonable period of time, we are achieving the goals for the digitization of the telecommunications market in our country at the level of fixed telephony”.
The company head for Europe, Dominique Leroy, said that “state-of-the-art network infrastructure is a key factor in business extroversion, attracting investment, creating new jobs, radically changing everyday life. Fiber optics to the home is a one-way street for any country that aims to grow digitally and improve its international competitiveness. With a move that changes the data, we are moving forward with the largest investment that has been made in recent decades in Greece for telecommunications infrastructure, and we are putting the country in a leading position in the digital age.”
The President and CEO of OTE Group, Mr. Michalis Tsamaz, stated that “we are meeting the real needs of the State, society and the market, building today the network on which growth will be based in the coming decades and upgrading speeds for our customers for free.”
In addition to other significant benefits, these investments will accelerate the country’s digital transformation and contribute to achieving its goals, as set out in the Digital Transformation Book and the National Broadband Plan.
The company also pledged to invest in the Phaistos Fund, which was raised with funds from the proceeds of the auction for 5G frequencies in order to return to the market and to enable even startups to present services that will be of direct interest to the Greek public, capable of producing added value. He stressed that they are considering investing in Greece for the production of innovative products.
From the government side, the meeting was attended by the Minister of State and Digital Governance, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, the Minister of State, Akis Skertsos, the Deputy Minister of Digital Government, Theodoros Livanios, the Head of the FinanceOffice of the Prime Minister, Alexis Patelis, and the Director of the Press Office of the Prime Minister, Dimitris Tsiodras.
The company was represented by Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges (online from Germany), Deutsche Telekom Manager for Europe Dominique Leroy, OTE Group President and CEO Michalis Tsamaz and OTE Group Legal Director, Irini Nikolaidi.
