What is the object of the project?
The “Gigabit Connectivity Voucher Scheme”, subsidizes the acquisition of very high capacity broadband connection by households and small and medium-sized enterprises by providing vouchers that will be used to cover the cost of acquiring the relevant service and in particular the cost corresponding to the initial connection (indicatively the cost of installing the horizontal optical cabling for the interconnection of the horizontal property with the existing vertical cabling, the cost of the terminal equipment, the activation cost and the monthly fee for the first 24 months of the subscription).
Greece is still lagging behind other EU Member States in terms of availability and penetration of very high capacity broadband networks. More specifically, based on the DESI (Digital Economy and Society Index) for the year 2023, the coverage of very high capacity fixed networks (VHCN) is 28% compared to 73% of the European average, while the penetration of broadband services of 100 Mbps or higher is 20% compared to 55% of the European average, placing Greece in last place among the Member States in these sub-indices. In addition, the penetration of services over VHCN infrastructure is estimated at a much lower rate of 7%, demonstrating the country’s significant gap in the penetration of these services. Ongoing and announced private and public investments are expected to significantly address the shortfall in the availability of very high capacity networks and services covering almost the whole country, however, despite the increased availability, it seems that the reduced demand still remains a key problem, putting in doubt the investment planning of operators.
An essential problem facing the Greek market and a barrier to improving the penetration of very high capacity broadband services is the absence of modern infrastructure that allows the provision of these services in most of the country’s existing buildings. The complexity and high cost of installing the necessary horizontal cabling infrastructure combined with the increased cost of very high capacity broadband services are the main factors leading to reduced demand for very high capacity broadband services. In conditions of high inflation, which limits the disposable income of households, it is imperative that the State takes the appropriate actions in order to maintain the momentum and further strengthen the transition to even higher speeds. Moreover, the intervention of the State to ensure citizens’ access to very high capacity broadband services is considered imperative as, as the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis have shown, modern economies and societies are particularly vulnerable to similar major events. Events such as these are radically changing the way of life and the role of digital and connectivity services, which are now an integral commodity for every household and a tool for the daily operation of businesses and the economy.
The “Gigabit Connectivity Voucher Scheme” addresses the problem of reduced demand and acts as a complement to the “Smart Readiness” action in order to remove barriers that limit the use of VHCN services by citizens, thus helping to stimulate demand for very high capacity broadband services and creating a more favourable investment environment for private and public investments for the development of networks.
