In the first year the plan foresees the provision of wholesale service to another telecommunications company or virtual provider, which also explains the choice of FiberGrid, which is already active in this sector. Later PPC would itself provide the service to end consumers. [AMPA]
Public Power Corporation appears interested in developing its presence in cell telephony through its own infrastructure.
PPC’s choice to participate and submit its own proposals through its FiberGrid subsidiary – in a public consultation carried out by the National Telecommunications and Post Commission and completed on Thursday – seems to be moving forward. It entails the allocation of spectrum in the 900 and 1,800 MHz bands.
The regulator had auctioned the specific usage rights about 15 years ago, which ended up with the three existing telecommunications providers, namely OTE, Nova and Vodafone. However, these licenses expire in 2027, which creates a critical window for redrawing the market. So the watchdog decided to redistribute them through a tender process, to be announced in the coming months.
This time, however, in addition to OTE, Nova and Vodafone, PPC is also expected to take part in the tender, as it is preparing its next steps after its entry into high-speed Internet and voice services with the development of the fiber optic network throughout Greece.
Market sources with knowledge of the matter tell Kathimerini that, if the terms and conditions are deemed appropriate, FiberGrid will declare its presence in the cell telephony spectrum. “In this light and at the right time, PPC could acquire a catalytic role in cell telephony for the benefit of consumers,” the same sources said.
For the time being, the energy group’s participation in the tender is not certain, but it has increased possibilities. In the event that it secures spectrum usage rights, the next step would be the development of mobile telephony infrastructure. It would hardly make sense to invest tens of millions of euros in acquiring the radio frequencies through which mobile networks operate, calls are made and Internet data is transferred, without having the necessary infrastructure to allow their commercial exploitation.
However, in the first year the plan foresees the provision of wholesale service to another telecommunications company or virtual provider, which also explains the choice of FiberGrid, which is already active in this sector. Later PPC would itself provide the service to end consumers.