OTE's priority is the connectivity of tourist areas

OTE - the largest telecommunications provider in Greece and one of the leading telecommunications companies in Southeast Europe - focuses on continuing its investment strategy, prioritizing uninterrupted connectivity and strengthening 5G networks, as well as digitizing all points of contact with consumers. Its goal is to significantly change the country's digital infrastructure for the next decades and lead it to the Gigabit Society, satisfying consumers' increasing need for data.

A goal that couldn't exclude areas with strong tourist interest, which hold a prominent position in OTE's network development plans. The importance of technology offering uninterrupted connectivity as an integral part of the daily lives of professionals in the tourism industry and visitors is evident in the 100% increase in data usage between August 2021 and August 2022.

Why prioritize tourism?

Staying true to its competitive profile, the group invests in providing quality services to tourists visiting Greece, ensuring that their experience in our country is not different from what they would receive on vacation in their own country.

For this reason, in the network development plans, both in terms of coverage and capacity, it prioritizes areas that attract visitors, making optimal coverage in significant winter and summer hotel units, beaches crowded with people, and tourist settlements with archaeological interest a strategic choice.

The planning processes of OTE's network and its performance monitoring move in this direction. In this context, the company ensures that it completes the design for the next year immediately after the end of the previous tourist season, taking into account the most recent data in order to meet emerging needs in the most effective way.

Planning for increased data demand

At the same time, the company expects further increase in demand for data services through mobile networks for 2023. Considering the company's strategy for continuous search for new sources of revenue, the OTE group plans to further exploit the increase in data consumption and the benefits of its network investments to further strengthen its revenue base, aiming to maintain its leading position in the domestic mobile telecommunications market.

The company will continue to expand its 5G network throughout the country, and already in specific areas, the maximum speeds exceed 1Gbps. By the end of 2022, it had already provided 5G network coverage to over 80% of the population and aims to cover the entire country by the end of 2023. Athens, Thessaloniki, and 37 other cities in Greece already have coverage above 90%, with speeds exceeding 1Gbps in some areas.

60% of the upgrades concern tourist areas of interest. 40% of base stations are in tourist areas, even though there are no major urban centers there. Among these areas, the Cyclades were the first to develop the 5G network as soon as the license was granted, and all stations located in island areas have been upgraded, including small remote islands such as Kastellorizo, Kasos, Symi, and Gavdos.

Emphasis on archaeological sites

Archaeological sites that have been consistently at the center of visitors' interest are an integral part of the aforementioned design. For this reason, OTE has entered into a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and has invested in infrastructure in 25 archaeological sites and museums to install a Wi-Fi network and provide excellent coverage.

In fact, in addition to these investments, which are not sufficient to accommodate the increasing tourist flows, OTE has also entered into interconnection agreements with 140 networks in 60 countries worldwide.

Furthermore, a product of the company's collaboration with the Ministry of Culture is the AR Cosmote Chronos application, which is supported by the Acropolis Museum within the framework of a cultural sponsorship agreement. Using cutting-edge technologies such as AR, VR, and AI in combination with the unique features of the 5G network, users of the application, which can be downloaded from the Play Store and Apple Store, have the opportunity to admire and explore the unique history of the Parthenon and other significant monuments, whether they are located on the Acropolis Rock or anywhere else in the world.