Greece: Entering the Optical Fibre Era

(GREEK NEWS AGENCY)  Greece plans to head up the penetration of optical fibre networks in Europe, as it intends to provide rapid access to the Internet at home, nationwide. As was announced by Communications Minister Evrypidis Stylianidis a draft bill concerning the interconnection of 54 cities, serving 2 million households, would be submitted to Parliament in September. The minister said that the government would fund one-third of the plan, investing some €700 million to create a fibre optic network, while the remaining €1.4 billion will come from as many as three public – private partnerships (PPPs). The new project, called “Fibre to the Home” – the optical fibre connections will have point-to-point (P2P) architecture – plans to hook up Athens and Thessaloniki as well as 52 other municipalities, thus promoting electronic trade and e-government by offering more users faster download times than currently available. Kathimerini daily: Network to help close digital gap (6.08.2009) and Greece to enter optical fibre era (31.07.2009)