The penetration of fiber optic networks in homes and businesses (FTTH or FTTP) in Greece is 38.4%, an increase of 10 percentage points compared to last year, but lower than the European average (64%).
The number of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) specialists remains low, while Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have a relatively moderate level of innovation and a low level of digital maturity. On the contrary, Greece is making satisfactory progress in the digitalisation of public services.
According to the EU target, all citizens should be able to enjoy internet connection speeds of 1 Gbit by 2030.
The European Commission report shows that performance so far falls short of the EU’s ambitions. Gaps identified include the need for additional investment at both EU and national level, notably in the areas of digital skills, high-quality connectivity, the uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics by businesses, semiconductor manufacturing and the development of start-up ecosystems.
The report highlighted that the EU is far from achieving the connectivity targets set by the DDPP: fibre optic networks, which are vital to provide gigabit connectivity and enable the adoption of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT), reach only 64% of households.
Greece’s Roadmap for the Digital Decade
The report also refers to the roadmap that Greece presented to the EU for the Digital Decade.
The roadmap, according to the EU report, contains a detailed analysis of the current situation and a comprehensive set of measures and initiatives aimed at achieving the Digital Decade goals to transform the country into a digitally advanced and inclusive society by 2030.
It should be added that the financing of the digital transformation is largely based on EU funds (funding from the RRF and Cohesion Policy). Total public funding for the 104 metres of the roadmap is estimated at €5,230.2 million (around 2.37% of GDP).
The priorities concern the digital transformation of the public sector, including the health sector, the digital transformation of the economy and the adoption of advanced digital technologies by companies.
The roadmap also provides a rough estimate of private investment in data centers and gigabit connectivity in the coming years of €6.9 billion.
Greece (86.2) performs above the EU average (85.4) in digitalising public services for businesses (annual growth of 17.5%). In digitalising public services for citizens, although Greece performs slightly below the EU average (75.9 vs. an EU average of 79.4), it also records annual growth of 17.5%.