The protagonists are the telecommunications providers, the OTE with one of the largest investment programs, Nova and Vodafone, while in the networks and data centers market it enters the PPC. In total the investments in fiber networks for homes and businesses (FTTH) announced amount to 5.880 billion euros.
If they are effectively implemented, we will have the so-called overbuild, that is, there will be areas where more than one FTTH network will be developed, a development that is considered positive for competition, as long as the areas of the country that are not of commercial interest will not be uncovered.
Mobility is seen in the data center sector, for which investments (including the total investment footprint) of 2.4 billion have been announced and continue to follow, as several projects are registered without their financial figures being known at the moment, such as in the case of submarine fiber optic cables. The account also includes investments in the space industry, which include the ambitious goal of the Ministry of National Defense to build and operate a telecommunications satellite and the action of the Ministry of Digital Governance for microsatellites.
Digitalisation projects carried out by the Information Society Organization (ISO) are worth around €2 billion, while investments in software products by private and public sector companies are estimated at €600 million. Outflows of over €1.24 billion were recorded in the Greek technology ecosystem in 2024, while investment funds for start-ups total €418 million.
Telecommunications networks
OTE | 3 billion euros: OTE is implementing an investment plan of around 3 billion euros until 2027 for the development of the FTTH and 5G network. In 2024, the group’s investments will be around 610 million and 620 million euros. OTE’s goal is to cover approximately two thirds of the country’s connections – telephone lines with FTTH (around 3 million connections). To date, it has manufactured 1.5 million and will reach 1.8 million by the end of this year.
New | 1.2 billion euros: Nova has announced the implementation of an investment plan of 2 billion euros until 2027. To date, 800 million euros have been invested, among others, in the expansion of the FTTH network, in the development of 5G and in television content (remaining 1.2 billion. By the end of the year, the aforementioned company will have built 540 thousand FTTH connections and by the end of 2026 a total of 1 million.
Vodafone | 1 billion euros: Around 300,000 FTTH lines will have been deployed by Vodafone by the end of the year. By 2025, its network will be commercially available in 500,000 homes and businesses, and in 2028, in 850,000. In addition to the FTTH network, its investment programme, worth one billion euros, which will be completed over the next five years, includes the continued development of the 5G network.
PPC | 680 million euros: PPC is trying to enter the telecommunications sector. Its target, announced by its management, is 500,000 connections by the end of 2024, 1.7 million in 2025 and a total of 3 million, with a total investment for the period 2024-2026 of 680 million euros. The announcements by PPC management on how it will operate in the retail sector are eagerly awaited, as it has officially spoken of providing the service wholesale to date.
Inalan | 40 million euros: FTTH fiber optic connections are also being built in Attica and Thessaloniki by Inalan, which says its investments over the next 4 years will amount to 40 million euros. Its goal is to cover 2.6 million addresses (households passed on).
Data centers
Digitalization combined with new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence increase the need for investment in data centers. The mobility observed in this sector maintains the expectation that, within 4 to 5 years, Greece will be the number 2 hub in the Mediterranean, after Marseille (currently number 1) based on available capacity. International analysts estimate that in the next five years, around 1.2 billion dollars will be invested in Greece for the development of data centers, with investments in this sector increasing at an annual rate of 8.8% until 2028.
Digital Real Estate | 1.1 billion: An important step in the developments launched in the data center area was the acquisition (in 2020) of Lamda Hellix by Digital Realty – one of the world’s largest companies in the area of data centers with a presence in 45 countries. Starting with the first two data centers, Athens 1 and Athens 2 (created by Lamda Hellix, a Greek company until its acquisition), Digital Realty has now fully operational Athens 3, construction of Athens 4 is well underway and Athens 5 is in preparation. At the same time, it is building a data center in Crete (Heraklion 1). These investments specify an increase in the IT load available in Digital Realty’s data centers from 2 MW to 35 MW over a period of three years. According to the American company, its investments in Greece will have a total impact on the Greek economy of around 1.1 billion euros over a decade.
Microsoft | 976.2 million: The licensing process for the construction and operation of three Microsoft data centers in Attica is underway, with a total budget of €976.168 million (excluding VAT). The first will be built in the “Petra-Gialou-Voulia-Prokalissi” Business Park in the Spata-Loutsa Municipality in the Municipality of Spata-Artemis, and the second and third in the Bourboutsana location in the Municipality of Kropias. The capacity of the Spata data center will be 19.2 MW, double that of the one to be installed in Koropi (9.6 MW). The American giant is financing its investment in Greece with 100% equity. The total investment budget referred to above is 976.168 million and includes the purchase of land (77.400 million), the construction of data centers (404.956 million), their technological and digital equipment (264.192 million), while 229.620 million euros are estimated for the operating costs of the 8-year period, which include payroll costs, facilities management costs, maintenance, etc.
Data4 | 300 million: The latest announcement for the creation of a data center came from the French company Data4, which has begun construction of a new data center campus in Attica (Paiania region), an investment of 300 million euros. The French company has been working on this project for 18 months and has already obtained all the necessary permits (archaeological, demolition, etc.). Data4’s data center will be commissioned in late 2026, early 2027. According to its management, Data4 plans to build 2 data centers that will be powered by up to 90 MW. The new data center campus in Paiana is located in an industrial area, ensuring proximity to important energy resources. It will be built on a 75-hectare site.
PPC – Damac: PPC and Damac (United Arab Emirates) are moving forward with the development of a 25 MW data center in Mesogeia. The newly formed joint venture, called Data in Scale, starts with a share capital of 4 million euros and is 55% owned by CAIO Holding Company Lim., a London-based Damac interest company, and 45% by PPC. In addition, reports indicate that PPC is in discussions with a major technology company about the creation of a large data center on private land it owns in former lignite mines in Western Macedonia. Details have not yet been released. The advantages of the area under discussion are the existence of privately owned land, the proximity to RES facilities, since data centers are particularly energy-intensive, but also the area’s “thirst” for investment in order to, among other things, increase employment. The budget for these two PPC investments has not been disclosed.
Submarine cables
CEM | 550 million euros: The most mature investment in submarine fibre optic cables concerns the East To Med Data Corridor (EMC) cable system. The first phase of the EMC represents an investment of around 550 million euros. There are two cables, the first starting from Marseille. It will stop in Greece (Crete and Athens) and reach Saudi Arabia. The second will follow approximately the same route starting from Genoa. The implementing body of the EMC includes Saudi Telecom (STC – a Saudi provider of telecommunications services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and one of the main suppliers in the Middle East) with 72%, PPC with 25% and Telecommunication Telephony Satellite Applications – TTSA (a telecommunications company headquartered in Greece with offices in Cyprus and Switzerland) with 3%. A syndicated Project Financing loan (financing a project rather than a company) for a total amount of 340 million euros was signed for the cable system. The head of the lending banks is the National Bank, which lends EMC 165 million, 65 million is Piraeus’ share, 50 million from Alpha Bank, while Aljazira participates with 50 million.
Grid Telecom – Tamares: Particularly active in terrestrial and submarine fibre optic cables is Grid Telecom, a subsidiary and telecommunications service operator of the Independent Electricity Transmission Operator (ADMIE). Among other things, it has announced a strategic partnership with Tamares Telecom, a leading international wholesale telecommunications service provider and fibre optic network operator, a subsidiary of the Aluma Infrastructure Fund, to strengthen digital connectivity in the Eastern Mediterranean with the development and operation of a state-of-the-art cable station and coastal infrastructure in Cyprus.
Space Technology
The Ministry of Defence intends to acquire a Greek satellite to cover its communications needs and, in collaboration with the Ministry of Digital Governance, has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to the space industry. This is an investment that could reach €300 million. The Ministry of Digital Governance’s ongoing microsatellite programme, with a budget of €120 million and financed by the Recovery Fund, is expected to help the development of the Greek space industry.
Digitization projects
KtP (Information Society), as the executive arm of the Ministry of Digital Government, handles the tendering procedures for digital projects within the scope of QREN, but also of the Recovery Fund, worth approximately 2 billion euros, with a completion time horizon for most of them in 2026. For this year, payments from the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will be approximately 400 million euros.
