The axes of OTE’s investment plan for 2022

Of Foti Foteinou

The axes of OTE’s investment plan for 2022 were mentioned, among others, by the President and CEO of the Organization, Michalis Tsamaz during yesterday’s annual general meeting.

Mr. Tsamaz made special mention of the development of the FTTH network, the population coverage of 5G, the enhancement of the content of COSMOTE TV, the undertaking of ICT projects and the raising of alternative revenues (insurance, payments, etc.).

OTE performance by category

OTE, like other telecommunications companies and not only, attaches great importance to the development of the FTTH network.

“We aim to reach 1 million households by the end of 2022 and 3 million by 2027. We have committed significant resources to this, increasing our investment to over 3 billion euros over the next six years,” Tsamaz said.

By the first quarter of the year, OTE had expanded the development of the FTTH network by 70 thousand lines, reaching a total of 634 thousand households and businesses at the end of March and about 650 thousand at the end of April.

The plan to accelerate the development of the FTTH network, which was announced at the end of last year, started to be implemented at the end of the first quarter, after the completion of the necessary procedures.

Regarding mobile telephony, Mr. Tsamaz commented that “our superiority is unquestionable”, noting that, by the end of the year, COSMOTE will increase the nationwide coverage of 5G to 80% and in Athens and Thessaloniki to almost 100 %.

As of March 31, OTE’s mobile customers were 7.2 million, an increase of 4.2% compared to the first quarter of 2021. The increase was achieved due to the increase of 5.3% of the contract customers and 3 , 5% of prepaid customers.

Respectively, for COSMOTE TV, the President and CEO of OTE pointed out that “television content is another of our competitive advantages”, emphasizing the guarantee of exclusive broadcasting rights of top football teams and events and the strengthening of Top-the-services OTT).

In this field, COSMOTE TV, although it lost the Premier League, signed an agreement with Olympiakos, now gaining a dominant position in the Greek championship.

As of March 31, the total number of TV subscribers reached 637 thousand, an increase of 10.2% on an annual basis.

Finally, regarding ICT projects, Mr. Tsamaz referred to the efforts to strengthen the Organization’s portfolio, with particular emphasis on undertaking projects of the Recovery and Sustainability Plan (RRF).

More generally, regarding the expansion of the operating costs of the Organization, after the price increases in energy and transport, Mr. Tsamaz underlined that “the Group is both mature and ready to face the challenges of rising operating costs”, emphasizing that Prior to the escalation of the crisis, it had taken steps to minimize the consequences, arguing that “the results will not be much affected”.

Concluding, the President and CEO noted that, despite any external uncertainties, the OTE Group is possessed by “vigilance and adaptability”, in order to meet the challenges, emphasizing the strengthening of services and products.

It is noted that yesterday’s general meeting of OTE shareholders approved the distribution of a dividend of 0.558 euros per share.