Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met today, at Maximos Mansion, with the Chief Executive Officer of Telekom Group, Timotheus Höttges.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister was informed about the 3 billion euro investment plans that OTE Group, a member of Telekom, is implementing in Greece until 2027, with emphasis on the expansion of the fiber optic network and 5G.
Mr. Höttges reaffirmed the Telekom Group’s commitment to continue investing in our country and expressed his satisfaction for the good cooperation with the government.
During the meeting, the wider course of digitization in Greece and the development of the infrastructure necessary for the telecommunications needs of the modern high-tech economy were examined.
Moreover, they discussed initiatives undertaken by the government to expand high-speed broadband connections, such as the Gigabit voucher for households and SMEs.
CEO Telekom: Greece is ahead of Germany now in the digitization
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister and Mr Höttges had the following dialogue:
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I’m really happy to welcome you, again. I still have very fond memories of the discussion we had last time, and I’m happy that Deutsche Telekom through OTE is part of the success of the country when it comes to digitization and connectivity. And we’ve been very carefully following your investment plan, and I’m eager to hear more about the details. But we have an excellent communication with your new management team and I’m particularly interested in issues of connectivity, especially the “Fiber to the Home” programme, which, hopefully, in 2.5 years will put us in the top tier of European countries when it comes to connectivity.
But there’s also a lot to discuss, especially when it comes to issues of competitiveness. I still remember very vividly last time you described how fragmented the telecoms market was in Europe, and I think these discussions at the European Council about creating true European champions is today more relevant than ever. So any thoughts you can offer or any suggestions, we’re very happy to to listen and to share them, and I’d be very happy to share them with my colleagues in Brussels.
Timotheus Höttges: So, dear Prime Minister, dear colleagues here, first thank you for taking the time and meeting me here today. It’s a big honour and great pleasure for me to be here. First, congratulations to Greece. By the way, I’m one of your ambassadors outside, wherever I am. Maybe you have seen that. I’m saying: have a look to Greece, how they have turned around, not only their country, but even, you know, the progress they made on digitization.
I was just in Seeon with the conservative party and their yearly kickoff.
Kyriakos Mitsotakis: I was also supposed to be there.
Timotheus Höttges: I know. I was hoping to meet you that evening and I made the statement saying: “Look, have a look to India; They have 27 different states, but they made one ID management even with all the languages. Have a look to Iceland, the small country, how they have digitised their whole economy”.
And I’ve said, “have a look to Greece, how quickly this country, even with not having all the digital skills, how quick Greece was able to digitise their country. You are ahead in Greece, ahead of Germany now in the digitization. And digitization is the prerequisite for wealth of the next generation. I’m entirely convinced on this one. So if you don’t have a digital economy, you will not have, let’s say, a competitive environment as well”.
The meeting was attended, on behalf of the Greek government, by the Minister of Digital Governance Dimitris Papastergiou, the Minister of State Akis Skertsos, the Deputy Minister of Digital Governance Konstantinos Kyranakis and the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister George Mylonakis.
Also present were Dominique Leroy, Head of Telekom Europe, the Chairman and CEO of OTE Group, Kostas Nebis and the General Counsel and Chief Legal and Regulatory Affairs Officer, Public Affairs & Corporate Governance of OTE Group, Eirini Nikolaidi.