COSMOTE has undertaken the design, study, and construction of seven new submarine fiber optic infrastructures in the Aegean Sea as part of its participation in the European project SEA-SPINE to serve the telecommunications needs of eleven islands in the Aegean Sea.
The aim of the project is to meet the need for uninterrupted connectivity and increased network capacity in the Aegean Sea by installing an undersea backbone network with a total length of 563 kilometres for the interconnection of the islands: Amorgos, Astypalaia, Kos, Sifnos, Folegandros, Evia, Chios, Lesvos, Limnos, Thassos, and Skyros. In addition, 232 km of onshore links will be built to interconnect the submarine optical cables with the terrestrial network interconnection centres. The new network infrastructure that will be deployed will provide enhanced mobile and fixed broadband services, protect telecommunications traffic by creating alternative connections, and reduce network latency in critical applications, serving the ever-increasing demands of the inhabitants of these islands.
The project is co-funded by the European Commission through the Connecting Europe Facility-Digital (CEF-Digital) to develop backbone connectivity for digital global gateways, which carry large volumes of data in remote areas of Europe. It aims to contribute to the objectives of the European Union's strategy for the green and digital transformation of the economy and society.
COSMOTE, as the technical manager of the project, defines the architecture, designs the required solution, and leads the design and construction of the submarine and land-based optical infrastructure. SEA-SPINE also involves WinGS ICT Solutions as a project manager and technical partner and the Ministry of Digital Governance as a partner, supporting licensing, standardization, regulatory framework, and outreach issues. The project has a total duration of 3 years and will be completed at the end of 2026.
"At COSMOTE, a member of the Telekom Group, we are shaping the infrastructure that will lead Greece into the future. With cutting-edge technologies and our participation in European projects such as SEA-SPINE for the development of high-quality connectivity throughout the country, we continue to implement our investment plan at an intensive pace, aiming to create a connected Greece where everyone can have equal access to next-generation networks," said Mr. George Tsonis, Chief Technology Officer of OTE Group.
COSMOTE, a member of the Telekom Group, continues to steadily build the future of a digital society by developing and improving the digital infrastructure for millions of households and businesses across the country. Committed to leading the digital transformation, it is the largest investor in new technologies and infrastructure in Greece. With around €5 billion of investment over the past decade and an investment plan of €3 billion by 2027, it is creating the infrastructure for the Gigabit Society. At the same time, the company's New Technologies Laboratories are evaluating new technologies and equipment for the telecommunications of the future.
