Telephone

 

Fixed Line Operators

 

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE S.A.) is the largest telecommunications provider in Greece, and together with its subsidiaries forms one of the leading telecom groups in Southeastern Europe. The company covers the whole country with PSTN and ISDN telephone lines and also offers ADSL in most urban areas and has invested over €800 million in its network & broadband infrastructure between 2006 – 2008. 

 

At the beginning of 2001, the period of exclusivity in the provision of fixed-line voice telephony services in Greece expired for OTE. As a consequence, the communications market has been open to competition since then. Hence alternative land line operators have arisen including:

 

• Vivodi
• Hellas On Line
• Forthnet
• Wind/Tellas
• On Telecoms

all providing high end equipment and services.

 

Mobile Providers

 

In August 1992, Greece awarded two second-generation (2G) GSM 900 licenses to STET Hellas (now Wind) and Panafon (now  Vodafone),which launched service in 1993. In 1995, Cosmote (an OTE affiliated company)was also awarded a dual band GSM 900/1800 license.In 2001, Vodafone and STET Hellas were awarded additional frequencies at 1800MHz, and QTelecom, a new entrant, was also awarded 2G spectrum. Q-Telecom introduced its own services in 2002. The 2G systems used mainly for voice, SMS and packet data transmission which can accommodate a series of value-added services, such as multimedia messaging services. At the same time, three of the existing operators were also awarded third-generation (3G) GSM licenses and launched commercial 3G services during 2004.

 

Generally speaking, cellular coverage in Greece is exceptional. You will find that even in small villages or remote  coastal areas there is usually cell phone coverage. Not only is the coverage exceptional, but so is the quality. Roaming with your current provider is usually most suitable for the business traveler who absolutely needs to be reachable at a particular number – at any expense. Bear in mind that you will be paying roaming fees so, while it may be convenient to be able to keep your number, you will be paying these rates for the non-essential calls that you are likely to receive.

 

Providers include:

• Cosmote
• Wind
• Vodafone