The expansion of the fiber-optic network into an ever-increasing number of buildings across the country, along with the progress and development this entails, has also created a significant problem that is prompting justified complaints from a large number of apartment building managers and owners in the country’s major cities, according to a statement from POMIDA.
This refers to the phenomenon of multiple, parallel internal fiber-optic networks being installed by different telecommunications providers in buildings that already have a central, modern, and neutral passive infrastructure funded through the “Smart Readiness” program.
These initial central fiber-optic network infrastructures, built with public and European funding, were designed precisely to serve all electronic communications providers, without requiring new work in the common areas of buildings for each new connection.
However, in practice, any provider other than the original one, without notifying anyone, proceeds unchecked to create a new parallel central facility next to the existing one, installing new conduits, cables, and central and terminal boxes in the entrance, hallways, and floors of the apartment building. However, this practice creates serious problems in apartment buildings:
- It alters and degrades the aesthetics of common areas,
- It burdens common facilities with unnecessary interventions,
- It causes constant disruption for owners and property managers,
- It effectively nullifies the purpose for which public and European funds were allocated to develop unified infrastructure.
The philosophy of the Smart Readiness program, as well as that of the European regulatory framework for electronic communications, is to create shared, neutral, and accessible passive infrastructure, in order to avoid parallel installations and the unnecessary duplication of networks within the same buildings.
It is therefore extremely disappointing that it is becoming the norm in apartment buildings that already have a certified Smart Readiness installation for a provider other than the original one to attempt, without hesitation, to install a second internal fiber-optic infrastructure—a practice that raises legitimate questions regarding its compatibility with the current national and European regulatory framework, as well as with the funding conditions of the program itself.
POMIDA expresses its deep concern regarding this situation and calls on the Ministry of Digital Governance and the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) to issue, without delay, clear and binding guidelines that:
- confirm that existing Smart Readiness infrastructure constitutes the building’s common passive infrastructure, to which all providers are required to connect,
- prevent the installation of second or third parallel internal networks when an available and functional infrastructure exists,
- the common areas of apartment buildings will be protected from unnecessary alterations that compromise their aesthetics and functionality,
- the proper use of public and European funds invested in the digital modernization of buildings will be ensured.
Property owners cannot be reduced to passive spectators of unchecked “competition” among service providers, which manifests itself through constant technical interventions in the common areas of apartment buildings—including the installation of openings in walls, the installation of pipes, cables, main and terminal panels, etc., and leads to the deterioration of infrastructure funded by taxpayers and the European Union.
The protection of private property, the preservation of the aesthetics and functionality of apartment buildings, as well as respect for the rules governing the proper use of public investments, require that this issue be addressed immediately before it escalates further, the statement concludes.