The entry into the field of telecommunications with its own fiber optic network for “Fiber to the Home” throughout Greece was announced by PPC during the 2nd day of the 5th Conference on Infrastructure & Transport – ITC 2022, organized by the news websites ypodomes.com and metaforespress.gr.
Alexandros Paterakis, Deputy CEO of PPC, and Dimitris Papazafiropoulos, Technical Chief Operations Officer NOVA-WIND participated in the special session on High Speed ​​Infrastructure.
A. Paterakis: PPC enters the fiber optic market
“One of the new ventures we are working on, studying it for 2 consecutive years, is the possibility to enter the field of telecommunications as a wholesale provider and what we call” fiber to the home “” revealed Alexandros Paterakis, Deputy CEO of PPC.
According to him, it is a project that will cover about 3 million households in about 5 years from today, while it is an investment that has no sign and which will cover the entire territory.
As Mr. Paterakis said, “we will mainly start from the big cities and then we will expand to the periphery”.
It is estimated that, from next autumn, PPC in cooperation with telecommunications providers will initially offer speeds of 1 Gbps.
The project is estimated at around 800 million euros, of which 530 million will be covered by a bond and the rest with equity that will come from the share capital increase.
Describing the characteristics of this project, Mr. Paterakis stressed that PPC has long experience in managing energy infrastructure (poles, columns, underground infrastructure, etc.). So this network will be exploited so that the fiber optic network “passes” to the existing infrastructure, while where there is no overhead network it will be based on the underground network.
Therefore, “with the same means and the same technical services, the fiber optic network will be covered. In essence, the final service will not be provided by PPC, but by the infrastructure. “A telecommunications provider will undertake to offer it to the final consumer,” he said.
PPC is currently in advanced discussions with NOVA, and it is estimated that the service will be available as soon as the pilot tests are completed. One of the features of the open access network that PPC will offer is the speed of construction (up to 3 times faster the air network compared to the basement) and the lower cost.
According to Mr. Paterakis, the Municipality of Peristeri was selected as the first Municipality that PPC will pilot its fiber optic network, while 25 km of fiber optics have already been developed, covering about 5,000 households.
It is estimated that from the end of June these households will be able to access the service. As he said, “our pilot program will be completed within the summer, covering 15,000 homes, while by the end of 2022 the Municipality will be covered in its entirety. Within the next month we will have completed the elaboration of the plan to cover 10 Municipalities and 450,000 households within the next 6-8 months “.
D. Papazafiropoulos: We plan new investments of 1.3 billion euros with a vehicle with 5G technology
Technical Chief Operations Officer NOVA-WIND, D. Papazafiropoulos referred to the high speed broadband infrastructure in Greece. He stated that “The providers have undergone a successful course of modernization of the network, with the main vehicle being mobile telephony.
However, there are several points at national level that we need to cover. Especially in the high speed broadband area. NOVA-WIND has the experience, know-how and investment potential to advance the shaping of the digital future to come.
Today we operate a network with almost 15,000 km, while in the coming years we plan investments of over 1.3 billion euros. “With investment and experience from international markets we can bring excellent services to households and businesses.”
Mr. Papazafiropoulos also referred to the infrastructure that must be developed in order for the network to be developed on them. He said: “Infrastructure is a need for everyone. Infrastructure development gives an advantage both inside a country and abroad, in its competitiveness. Digital infrastructure means smart networks. NOVA-WIND implements a 5G development program, to create the appropriate infrastructure not in the short term but for the coming years “.
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