Greece: Coverage of 65% of the territory with fiber optic networks

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) web sum successful Greece has reached 65% of the territory, while work penetration stands astatine 23%.

According to telecommunications marketplace information compiled by Naftemporiki, commercially available FTTH connections totaled 3.1 cardinal astatine the extremity of 2025, retired of 4.8 cardinal fixed-line connections nationwide. These networks are operated by OTE, Vodafone, and Nova, with OTE maintaining the largest footprint, having deployed astir 2.1 cardinal lines. In definite areas, web overbuild is observed owed to PPC’s introduction into FTTH infrastructure, arsenic well arsenic the enactment of Inalan and HCN (the second chiefly successful cities successful Northern Greece). Connections successful this class are estimated astatine astir 950,000.

In terms of usage, astir 1.1 cardinal households and businesses had an progressive FTTH transportation by the extremity of 2025. This corresponds to 35% of total sum and 23% of the wide fixed-line market, highlighting the spread that still exists betwixt availability and adoption.

Subsidy

Recent information bespeak an improvement. At the extremity of the archetypal fractional of 2025, sum stood astatine 56% and penetration astatine 17%. Within six months, sum accrued by 9 percent points and penetration by 6 points. However, this maturation is mostly attributed to the request subsidy programme implemented by the Ministry of Digital Governance. Funded done the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the programme has acted arsenic a cardinal operator successful encouraging users to migrate to fibre connections. According to sources, the ministry is presently seeking caller backing sources to proceed the scheme, arsenic request stimulation remains captious for further penetration growth.

At the aforesaid time, contempt the improved figures, afloat nationwide sum has yet to beryllium achieved. Network enlargement is progressively moving into little commercially charismatic areas, where deployment costs are higher and returns lower. Moreover, delays and challenges persist adjacent successful municipality centers, chiefly owed to administrative procedures and task coordination issues.

New regulatory framework

Against this backdrop, a caller regulatory model is being precocious to accelerate the deployment of very high-capacity networks.

The draught instrumentality of the Ministry of Digital Governance, precocious presented to the Cabinet by Minister Dimitris Papastergiou, incorporates EU Regulation 2024/1309 and seeks to code cardinal barriers, including precocious deployment costs, infrastructure fragmentation, and analyzable permitting procedures.

A cardinal proviso is the promotion of shared use of existing carnal infrastructure—such arsenic ducts, energy, water, and transport networks. The purpose is to debar caller excavation works wherever technically feasible and alternatively leverage existing infrastructure, thereby reducing some costs and implementation timelines.

In parallel, the model strengthens coordination of technical works, allowing aggregate entities to transportation retired projects simultaneously. This is intended to bounds repeated interventions astatine the aforesaid location, which summation costs and disrupt municipality operations.

Particular accent is besides placed connected entree to in-building infrastructure, facilitating the installation of networks within buildings without further technical interventions, arsenic well arsenic ensuring entree to accusation connected available infrastructure and planned works.

A cardinal relation successful the caller exemplary will beryllium played by the Single Information Point (SIP), a integer level done which accusation connected existing and planned infrastructure, permitting procedures, and rights of way will beryllium centralized and made accessible.

This level builds connected and expands the existing system, which presently supports the integer absorption of permits for telecommunications projects. Under the caller framework, the system will beryllium integrated into and functionally expanded within the SIP to screen each technical works susceptible of hosting physics communications networks, careless of sector.

The system will beryllium enriched with further data, including inventories of available infrastructure, accusation connected planned works, exemption lists, regulatory decisions, and quality solution mechanisms.

Streamlining and oversight

A cardinal constituent of the draught instrumentality is the simplification of administrative procedures. It introduces standardized processes for permitting and granting rights of way, with wide deadlines and afloat digitization of exertion management, aiming to trim administrative load and delays.

The model besides includes provisions to strengthen oversight and compliance, with designated authorities, quality solution mechanisms, enforcement measures, and enabling provisions for secondary authorities to further specify implementation details. In definite cases, exemptions whitethorn beryllium granted for reasons such arsenic nationalist security.

However, the rollout of the caller system is expected to look transitional challenges, peculiarly regarding the postulation and digitization of information connected existing infrastructure, its integration into a unified environment, and the adaptation of stakeholders to caller coordination and collaboration processes.

The timely issuance of the indispensable secondary authorities is besides considered captious to guarantee the model is implemented efficaciously and supports the rollout of capital-intensive web investments by providers.

The draught instrumentality is presently astatine an precocious stage of processing and has undergone consultation with aggregate ministries—including Culture, Health, Maritime Affairs, Justice, Infrastructure and Transport, Interior, Citizen Protection, National Defence, Finance, and Education—as well arsenic with the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT). Key feedback has focused connected issues of competencies, exemptions, and information availability.