The European Commission’s green light to the agreement on volume discounts between telecommunications providers triggers expectations of price reductions in the service connecting households and businesses to the fiber optic network (FTTH).
The proposal of the OTE Group that was approved and is expected to be implemented in the next period foresees a system of mutual discounts of up to 28% between the providers (OTE, Vodafone and Nova) on the wholesale prices, with connection volume commitments.
Providers will be able to commit to each other the volumes of connections they will bring to each other’s network, depending on the areas each covers with FTTH, ensuring significant discounts. This system is open and available, under exactly the same conditions, to all providers active in the market, or intending to be active in the future.
The agreement has the consent of Vofafone, while after the changes made it is estimated that it will be signed by Nova as well.
The draft agreement was notified to the EU by the National Telecommunications and Posts Commission (EETT). It got the green light as the European Commission recognized that volume discounts could be a positive step towards faster deployment of FTTH services, as part of the commitment to expand high-speed internet access in Greece. This proposal is also expected to strengthen digital infrastructure and connectivity, to the benefit of both consumers and businesses.
The EU also pointed out the need for EETT to closely monitor the market and ongoing developments, in order to ensure that the measure does not lead to distortions of competition and to use the regulatory tools available in a timely and appropriate manner.
It is estimated that the discounts that the agreement will bring to wholesale prices will also be passed on to retail so that more consumers can be connected to FTTH, increasing the penetration of the service and achieving the EU’s goals for the Digital Decade 2030.
