The Ultra-Fast Broadband project
The General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Post approved a large broadband project led by Secretary General Vassilis Maglaras. The project, called Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFBB), has a total budget of €700 million. From the total, €300 million is public funding participation and the remaining €400 million is private.
This is the largest PPP project ever designed and implemented in Greece. The previous one’s cost was $160 million, which is less than 25% of the current number. It’s also an impressive example of how project PPPs work in Europe, which is why it is attracting the interest of all players and investment funds from all over the world. It’s amazing that this project costs more than all of the PPP projects implemented in the country. In all sectors, not just construction – every single other sector!
The General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Post of the Ministry of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Information designed the project. The public contribution comes from two EU-funded projects. These refer to €265 million from the European Union’s 2014-2020 funding period and €35 Million from the Rural Development Programme. The approval of the project by the PPP committee is a key milestone on its way to implementation. The deadlines for tenders are also not too far away.
Upgrades in speed
Suppose DG COMP approved the SuperFast Broadband action of the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Post. The funding allotment was $50 million annually, which concerns the subsidy of citizens for connecting to the internet at a speed of 100 Mbps or higher, with the possibility of upgrading to 1 Gbps. This is a pilot action for the development of telecommunications infrastructure across Europe, which is well behind most developed countries in the world. Many Member States are also planning to launch similar actions because they want to catch up with their peers. Because Greece initially planned this design, it’s what everyone else wants as well.
The adoption of the decision was much quicker than the average, in less than six months. The General Secretariat of Telecommunications worked close with them for the new action. This, basically, contributed to this success. Competition Commissioner Margrethe Westeyer said. “The system will help to end the digital divide, existed for years in Greece. It ensures that competition is not unduly squashed.”
Coverage and duration of Project
The UFBB action plans to cover the majority of Greece, not adequately covered by existing plans of private telecoms providers. It complements their infrastructures and aims to provide the same coverage across the country. The project will be implemented in lots, taking into account the need to ensure the operation of competition and achieving economies of scale. The infrastructure of the project will provide service to approximately 2.5 million citizens (roughly 18% of the total connections) nationwide.
The duration of the project is, as estimated, approximately 20 years, with all the infrastructure fully owned by the Greek State after the end of their concession period.
By 2023, 76% of the population will have access to a 1 Gbps connection (58% covered by networks deployed by telecom operators, 18% by the UFBB network), 24% can achieve speeds of 30-100Mpbs (including the areas covered by the Rural Broadband project)
The UFBB project is a part of the country’s National Broadband Plan and is currently going through planning stages. It’s also one of many actions that have been prepared for the past few years by the General Secretariat on Telecommunications.
It seems that the systematic work of the GSTG may now be paying off. They were able to do their work methodically without drumbeat and it has now led to success. It’s characteristic that telecom companies make their announcements of plans during the most recent area allocation cycles, by EETT, for the deployment of next generation networks in the country (2016). They foresaw deployment of fibre-optic networks in a small percentage. it appears that the operators have completely upgraded their investment plans, which now focus on fiber optic technologies.
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Author: PC-GR
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