Broadband News
News, views and analysis
Greek FTTH plan is down but not out
30 Nov 2009 | 16.16 Europe/London
A change of government, the economy in recession, and a national deficit that’s twice as large as originally thought – it’s hard to imagine a set of circumstances less conducive to spending public money on capital-intensive fibre infrastructure. And yet the Greek government’s ambitious plan to build a €2.1 billion fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network is not dead, but has merely been postponed for one year, according to reports.
“It is worth noting that the FTTH plan is one of the few projects of the previous government that the Socialists intend to carry on forward,” said telecoms analyst Costas Troulos.
Back in September 2008, the Greek government said it intended to build a next-generation access network that would pass 2 million homes – roughly 40% of the population – in Athens, Thessaloniki, and 50 other cities and towns across Greece. The network would offer speeds of 100 Mbps or even higher, giving the country a much needed boost on broadband league tables.
The Greek government wouldn’t have to foot the entire bill. Instead it would set up public-private partnerships - an increasingly common business model in Europe, and one that has been succesfully used to invest in fibre networks before. The state would contribute roughly one-third of the estimated €2.1 billion total cost, with the remaining investment coming from industry.
Three separate tenders would be held, allowing private companies to construct, maintain and operate dark fibre access networks in three separate regions of the country simultaneously. Construction of the network was due to start in 2010, and be completed within seven years.
The next step, according to Troulos, is for the government to set up a group of experts to prepare a tender for a techno-economic study, and work on the legislative framework for the project and the corresponding public consultation. If everything goes according to plan, the FTTH project will be submitted to the European Commission for approval in the second half of 2010, and the tender for network construction issued in 2011.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy has put its plans for a national fibre network on hold due to the recession, and the UK's proposed Next Generation Fund - more commonly referred to as the 50p telephone levy - may never materialise if there is a change in government. So it is all the more surprising that Greece's next-generation broadband plans remain more or less intact.
“It is worth noting that the FTTH plan is one of the few projects of the previous government that the Socialists intend to carry on forward,” said telecoms analyst Costas Troulos.
Back in September 2008, the Greek government said it intended to build a next-generation access network that would pass 2 million homes – roughly 40% of the population – in Athens, Thessaloniki, and 50 other cities and towns across Greece. The network would offer speeds of 100 Mbps or even higher, giving the country a much needed boost on broadband league tables.
The Greek government wouldn’t have to foot the entire bill. Instead it would set up public-private partnerships - an increasingly common business model in Europe, and one that has been succesfully used to invest in fibre networks before. The state would contribute roughly one-third of the estimated €2.1 billion total cost, with the remaining investment coming from industry.
Three separate tenders would be held, allowing private companies to construct, maintain and operate dark fibre access networks in three separate regions of the country simultaneously. Construction of the network was due to start in 2010, and be completed within seven years.
The next step, according to Troulos, is for the government to set up a group of experts to prepare a tender for a techno-economic study, and work on the legislative framework for the project and the corresponding public consultation. If everything goes according to plan, the FTTH project will be submitted to the European Commission for approval in the second half of 2010, and the tender for network construction issued in 2011.
Elsewhere in Europe, Italy has put its plans for a national fibre network on hold due to the recession, and the UK's proposed Next Generation Fund - more commonly referred to as the 50p telephone levy - may never materialise if there is a change in government. So it is all the more surprising that Greece's next-generation broadband plans remain more or less intact.