Greece Embraces the Future: FTTH Poised for Growth

The EU strategic approach towards FTTH

The European Union has a clearly articulated and strategic approach to promoting Fiber to the Home (FTTH) and fostering competitive broadband infrastructure across its member states. This strategy is defined through several key policy initiatives and directives aimed at providing widespread access to high-speed internet connectivity, enhancing digital competitiveness and driving economic growth and innovation.

FTTH as the Future

• The EU recognizes FTTH as the future-proof technology for high-speed, reliable internet access.
• Initiatives like the Gigabit Society Strategy and the Electronic Communications Code emphasize the importance of FTTH infrastructure for economic growth and social development.

EU Directive on Electronic Communications Networks

• This directive, adopted in 2018, sets out a framework for promoting competition and investment in high-speed broadband networks.
• It encourages member states to phase out copper networks and invest in future-proof internet solutions like FTTH.

Focus on Competition

• The EU promotes a competitive broadband market, believing it drives innovation, lower prices and better service for consumers and businesses.
• Regulatory measures encourage fair competition among service providers, allowing for a diverse market offering different FTTH plans and options.

Funding and Initiatives

• The EU provides funding mechanisms like the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to support broadband infrastructure projects, including FTTH deployment in underserved areas.
• Additionally, the EU Smart Readiness Program offers grants and resources for businesses to implement smart solutions, often relying on robust FTTH infrastructure.

 Greece Embraces the Future

As it concerns the situation in Greece, the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) infrastructure in Greece is still in its early stages. However, urban centers such as Athens and Thessaloniki are being prioritized as part of an effort to improve digital connectivity, support economic growth and drive innovation. According to data collected by "Naftemporiki" from the telecom market, the penetration of FTTH networks in homes and businesses has reached approximately 36%, with actual usage totaling 7.7%. This amounts to around 1,700,000 available FTTH lines out of a total of 4,800,000 households and businesses, representing an increase from 28% a year ago. OTE, the primary telecommunications provider in Greece, has installed approximately 80% of the FTTH lines (1.331 million), with Vodafone and Nova sharing the remaining 20%. While Greece's FTTH penetration rate is below the European Union's average of 56%, the recent increase shows promise for future growth and expansion.

Greece is experiencing a significant push towards FTTH adoption, driven by several factors:

• EU Directive: The European Union directive mandating the phase-out of copper networks incentivizes countries to invest in fiber optic infrastructure.
• EU Smart Readiness Program: The Information Society has launched a call for action to enhance the modern telecommunications and utility networks of 120,000 buildings, with a budget of 100 million Euros, funded by the Recovery Fund. The objective of the project is to offer a subsidy for the installation of internal wiring that can support broadband high-speed services, smart meters to record energy consumption and infrastructure interconnecting systems to record the environmental footprint of common facilities such as central heating. As per the terms of the project, the buildings eligible for funding should be situated in areas where fiber-optic networks with a capacity of 1 Gbps have been or will be installed by 2026.
• UFBB for Greece: In recent years, there has been a growing trend towards increasing coverage of Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) in major cities and urban areas, while semi-urban and rural areas are left behind. In order to address the issue, the Ministry of Digital Governance started by issuing a public call to service providers to map the areas that needed intervention. Once the mapping was completed, the Ministry invited proposals from providers to implement optical fiber in those areas that had not been included in private investment plans. This project is considered one of the most significant telecommunications infrastructure projects announced in Greece and one of the largest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects in Europe. It supports the country's digital transformation agenda and aims to bridge the digital gap between urban centers and the outskirts. The project aims to cover over 830,000 households and businesses (over 18%) as well as 10,000 public buildings such as schools and health centers in semi-urban and rural areas.

The three main steps of the FTTH Solution implementation

• Planning and deployment:

Once the survey and project planning stages are completed, the process of laying fiber optic cables begins. The deployment may be buried or aerial. Moreover, the backbone fiber cables are laid from the central office to the distribution hubs.

• Building implementation:

The second step of the process involves the installation of fiber cables and the implementation of building infrastructure. The distribution cables are connected from the FDH to individual homes. This process can take between 6 to 12 months and can be carried out in two ways: indoor installation (inside existing buildings) or outdoor installation (using prefabricated structures such as shelters and/or cabinets).

• Last drop:

The final step in installing fiber optics is known as the "last drop". In this step, technicians bring the fiber optics from the BTP to the customer's home. To activate the service, customers need to contact an operator that best suits their needs and choose from the available offers. After the contract is finalized with the operator, they will begin the last installation phase.

Neurosoft as a major partner in FTTH deployments

Once telecom companies, governments and communities make the decision to embark FTTH initiatives, several challenges arise. These challenges include the high costs of deploying FTTH infrastructure in rural and remote areas, the need to modify regulatory frameworks to effectively facilitate infrastructure investment and promote competition, the intense competition within the telecom industry, the requirement for community and stakeholder engagement, talent shortage and customer acquisition and retention.

Neurosoft provides high-end fiber FTTH services for building implementation and the "last drop", aiming to address those challenges through collaboration and effective project management. As a long-standing player in the telecommunications industry for over 15 years, our organization forged solid partnerships with major vendors and providers, gaining a wealth of experience and expertise in this field. In 2023, we established a dedicated team of 30 seasoned professionals with a singular focus on FTTH projects, to work in close collaboration with providers. Our unwavering commitment to FTTH projects is evidenced by the agreements we have with some of the industry's largest providers. We believe that FTTH projects can significantly impact bridging the digital gap and bringing high-speed connectivity to communities creating opportunities for economic growth. We are enthusiastic about expanding our partnerships in this area and look forward to new opportunities to create a brighter digital future.