Internet users must wait up to 3 weeks to get back online
Greek broadband internet users have to wait from one to three weeks for connections to be repaired, according to data from the National Commission for Telecommunications and Post (EETT).
Times get longer when there is more than one supplier involved in the provision of a service: Most telecom lines are supplied exclusively by OTE, while internet access services may be supplied both by OTE and by third parties, such as Vodafone, Wind and Forthnet. As a result there have been numerous disputes between rival suppliers.
Customers who have chosen providers other than OTE have to refer back and forth between their line supplier and their service provider to have their connection restored. OTE was found in 2017 to favor its own customers when prioritizing line restorations and was charged with a fine of 6.3 million euros. Now Vodafone and Wind are also developing their own networks, selling capacity to rival service providers too, including OTE, which of course complicates the situation further.
The decline in service standards is due to constant staff cuts and reductions in operation expenses over the last decade. For example, according to EETT, the average time customers have to wait for a response to a telephone call is three minutes, with 95 percent of calls taking up to 14 minutes. The wait for a new broadband connection is 10 to 50 days.
