Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, met today with Deutsche Telekom AG Chairman and Chief Executive, Timotheus Höttges.
At the meeting, Deutsche Telekom and OTE representatives announced their decision to invest 2 billion euros over the next four years in the Greek economy for the development of fiber to the home and 5G, so that one million households will acquire 1 Gigabit speed connection.
This investment is a vote of confidence in the Greek economy and at the same time an important step for its digital transformation.
The meeting was, also, attended by the Minister of Digital Policy, Telecommunications and Information, Nikos Pappas, the Deputy Minister to the Prime Minister, Dimitris Liakos, and the Chairman and Managing Director of the OTE Group, Michalis Tsamaz.
After the meeting, Mr. Pappas and Mr. Höttges made the following statements (on camera):
N. Pappas: “Today we had the opportunity to have a very creative meeting with the administration of Deutsche Telekom. With the people who announced that the company will make investments of two billion euros over the next four years so that one million households will obtain fiber optic connection, which means that this will enable them to have connectivity up to 1 GB.
It is a vote of confidence in the Greek economy. Positive signs thicken, and especially this type of investment, I would say that it is very critical because it leads Greece to the age of new technologies.
The role of the State is to ensure that private investment is densified and done in such a way that all Greeks have access to these new technologies and to the amazing and excellent services that can be developed on these infrastructures “.
T. Höttges: “It is important that Deutsche Telekom invests in Greece. We are proud of our administration in Greece and OTE and of what has been achieved in recent years. Deutsche Telekom has made huge investments in the country. As a first step, we built the best mobile network and now we have decided to move on to the Fiber To The Home (FTTH). Gigabit society needs the development of fiber networks everywhere and we are now taking a big step forward. Fiber To The Curb technology is already in place and we decide to invest so that the 25% of the country’s population to acquire FTTH over the next four years. We discussed this decision today with the Greek Prime Minister, which shows that our commitment to Greece is a given. Another example of the good climate that has been developed in Greece in recent years is our commitment to buy an extra 5% of OTE. So we are in a right path, here in Greece, in order to build the Gigabit society as Deutsche Telekom.
