IPTO actively supports the expansion of cooperation with Electricity Transmission System Operators for the development of common telecommunication infrastructures in the Balkans, as confirmed in the context of the 4th “Balkans Digital Highway Workshop”, held in Athens on January 18 and 19 by the World Bank, with the support of the Group’s subsidiary company, Grid Telecom.
In his welcoming address at the opening of the meeting, the Chairman and CEO of IPTO Mr. Manos Manousakis highlighted the importance of close cooperation between Transmission System Operators for the development of alternative regional telecommunications networks and the utilization of fibre optic infrastructures, which either exist or will be created in the wider Balkan region. He also emphasized that “IPTO, in cooperation with the neighbouring Operators, is creating critical backbone networks for the transfer of energy and data in the Balkans and the Mediterranean. Grid Telecom, the telecommunications branch of the Group, utilizes this valuable asset base, expanding IPTO’s domestic fibre optic network, which currently exceeds 4,500 km, beyond the Greek borders. In this way we are creating new telecommunication corridors that promote the digital transition at the national and regional level and contribute to the transformation of the country into a strong international open access data hub”.
The annual international meeting organized by the World Bank aims to develop telecommunications infrastructure at regional level and digital convergence in the Balkan region, through the sharing and optimal utilization of the fibre optic networks that interconnect the national Electricity Transmission Systems. During the two-day meeting in Athens, IPTO officials had the opportunity to exchange views on these issues with representatives of the Transmission Operators of Albania (OST), North Macedonia (MEPSO), Italy (TERNA), Bulgaria (ESO EAD), Montenegro (CGES) and Kosovo (KOSTT).
