OTE

For other uses, see OTE (disambiguation).

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A.
Οργανισμός Τηλεπικοινωνιών Ελλάδος Α.Ε.

Type	Anonymi Etairia
Traded as	Athex: HTO, OTCBB: HLTOY
Industry	Telecommunications
Founded	1949
Headquarters	Maroussi, Greece
Area served	Greece, Southeast Europe
Key people	Michael Tsamaz (Chairman and CEO)
Products	Fixed line and mobile telephony, internet, digital television, IT services
Revenue	€5.483 billion (2010)
Operating income	€384.9 million (2010)
Profit	€39.6 million (2010)
Total assets	€9.538 billion (end 2010)
Total equity	€1.653 billion (end 2010)
Employees	31,090 (end 2010)
Subsidiaries	Cosmote, Otenet, OTEGlobe
Website	www.ote.gr

Hellenic Telecommunications Organization S.A. (Greek: Οργανισμός Τηλεπικοινωνιών Ελλάδος Α.Ε.), usually known by its Greek initials OTE, is the dominant telecommunications provider in Greece. Along with its subsidiaries, is one of the largest telecom groups in South Eastern Europe. OTE Group offers broadband services, fixed and mobile telephony, high-speed data communications and leased lines services. In addition, the Group in Greece is involved in a range of activities, notably satellite communications, real-estate and professional training. At present, OTE companies employ over 30,000 people in 4 countries. Formerly a state-owned monopoly, OTE was part-privatized in 1998 and is now listed on the Athens and New York Stock Exchanges. Since July 2009 Deutsche Telekom is the largest shareholder of the company.

History

Aerial view of OTE Headquarters

OTE was created in 1949 to bring several related public and private enterprises under one telecommunications umbrella. Prior to this, telephony, telegraphy, local and international connections were fragmented and ill-coordinated.

Up to 1998, the telecommunications market in Greece was a monopoly. The market was opened to competitors and OTE was gradually privatized. As a result, the Greek government currently holds 10% of the company's stock. Along with the rest of the telecoms market, OTE is regulated by the National Telecommunications and Post Commission (Εθνική Επιτροπή Τηλεπικοινωνιών και Ταχυδρομείων - EETT).

In 2007 Marfin Investment Group acquired 20% of the company, and in March 2008 sold it to Germany's Deutsche Telekom which later increased its stake to 25% plus one vote, matching that of the state.

Following the sale of a further 5% in 2009 and another 10% in 2011 of OTE’s share capital by the Greek state to Deutsche Telekom, the state holds 10% and DT 40%.

2011

• OTE signs agreement with Telecom Serbia to sell its 20% stake in the company.
• Launches satellite Pay TV services under the brand name OTE TV.
• Deutsche Telekom acquires extra 10% of OTE share capital raising its stake to 40%.

2010

• OTE delists from the New York Stock Exchange.
• Michael Tsamaz, CEO of OTE Group’s mobile arm COSMOTE, assumes the position of OTE President & CEO.

2009

• OTE presents Conn-x TV, based on IPTV technology..
• An additional 5% of Greek State shares, including voting rights, are sold, bringing Deutsche Telekom’s stake to 30%. Τhe Greek State’s participation is not at 20%.
• COSMOTE completes Telemobil SA (Zapp) acquisition in Romania.
• The sale of COSMOFON -owned by COSMOTE- in FYROM is completed.
• COSMOTE acquires full ownership of GERMANOS, a top telecom retail chain in the broader Southeast region.

2008

• OTE acquires full ownership of COSMOTE shares and the company is delisted from the ASE.
• Deutsche Telekom signs a shareholder agreement with the Greek government, via which, as of 5 November, each has a 25% stake plus one share in OTE share capital.
• OTE ADSL connections in Greece exceeded 970,000 while OTE network points of presence reached 1.390 countrywide.
• OTE launches conn-x TV (IPTV) to a limited number of existing clients for a trial period.

2005 - 2007

• OTE broadband connections reach 825,000.
• OTE makes available new speeds reaching 24Mbps.
• The Greek State sells 10.7% of OTE share capital to institutional investors.
• “OTE on the Broadband” 2-year programme is launched in 2006 having as its main objective to inform people on broadband technology.

2004 - 2000

• OTE and COSMOTE act as Grand National Sponsors of the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.
• OTE launches ADSL services in the Greek market.
• Satellite Hellas Sat2 is launched from Cape Canaveral.
• OTE is ranked, stock wise, among the 500 largest organisations globally and among the 10 largest telecommunications organisations in Europe.

2000 – 1990

• Acquires GSM License in Bulgaria and establishes Globul to exploit this license.
• OTE is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
• OTE acquires an initial 35% stake in RomTelecom, the incumbent telephony company in Romania.
• ΟΤΕ is listed in the Athens Stock Exchange (IPO).
• ΟΤΕ expands to the Balkans, SE Europe and the Middle East.
• The Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission, i.e. the regulatory authority of the telecommunication market in Greece, is established.
• OTE introduces videoconference services.
• OTE establishes a widespread network of fibre optics.

1989 - 1979

• The first fully digitised switching centres (long-distance and hub) of the EWSD/SIEMENS system are established.
• OTE introduces a Paging service.
• The Thermopylae Inmarsat Land Earth Station at the Centre of Satellite Communication commences commercial operations.

1974 - 1965

• OTE commences the construction of international networks (submarine cables and radio-links).
• The first antenna of the Centre of Satellite Communication in Thermopylae (the 6th in Europe) is set up.
• Laying of the submarine cable Greece-Italy MED 3 is completed.
• The Greek long-distance telephone network is automated.

1962 - 1949

• The TELEX service becomes operational.
• The first Greek telephone directory is published.
• 23 October 1949: ΟΤΕ S.A. is founded.

Subsidiaries

Greece

• COSMOTE (100%): Mobile telecommunications services.

• Hellas Sat (99.1%): Broadband internet via satellite.

• TESat-Maritel (94.1%): Satellite services for maritime communications.

• Hellascom (100%): Telecommunications infrastructure projects.

• OTEplus (100%): Consultancy services on telecommunications and IT networks.

• OTEAcademy (100%): Education and advanced vocational training.

• CosmoOne (61.7%): B2B (Business to business) electronic commerce applications and services.

• OTE Estate (100%): management of OTE Group’s real estate assets.

International

RomTelecom: OTE owns 54% of the share capital of RomTelecom, the main telecommunications operator in Romania, providing fixed-line services (voice, broadband, data and leased lines) and satellite TV services to the local market.

The OTE Group mobile telecommunications subsidiary, COSMOTE, is also present in mobile telephony in:

• Bulgaria through Globul (100%)
• Albania through AMC (97.2%)
• Romania through COSMOTE Romania (86.2%)

Shareholding structure

Starting in 1996, the Greek State gradually decreased its participation in OTE’s share capital. Following an agreement between the Greek State and Deutsche Telekom, as of November 2008 each party held 25% plus one share of OTE’s share capital. Following a further sale of shares and voting rights, as of 11 July 2011 Deutsche Telekom’s stake in OTE has risen to 40% while that of the Greek State amounts to 10%.

Hellenic Republic: 10.0%

Deutsche Telekom: 40.0%

International institutional shareholders: 29.5%

Greek institutional shareholders: 10.7%

Other shareholders: 9.8%

Financial data

OTE Group’s turnover in 2010 amounted to € 5,482.8 million showing an 8% decrease year-on-year. The decrease is attributed to the adverse financial situation which has affected the Group’s activities in all the countries where it is operational. The Group’s adjusted EBITDA in 2010 fell by 11.5% to €1,919.4 million.

(€ mn)	12M’10	12M’09	% Change
Revenues	5,482.8 €	5,958.9 €	-8.0%
EBITDA	1,747.9 €	2,198.3 €	-20.5%

Products and infrastructure

From 2008 to 2011, the company invested more than € 500 million in networks and technological infrastructure.

Access Networks

OTE’s access network is mainly based on copper (with over 5.3 million pairs) and on optical fibres that will gradually replace the copper network. Greece’s entire broadband network relies on OTE’s access network for all services provided by OTE and all alternate providers. The supported technologies are: ADSL/ADSL2/ADSL2+, NGA with FTTC/VDSL2 Architecture, Satellite broadband internet.

New technologies

SATELLITE Pay-TV: OTE has started offering a satellite-based subscription television service (OTE-TV) via the Eutelsat satellite, having recently installed a full Head-end with multiple HD channel capability for this service.

IPTV: Interactive-TV Content Delivery Platform, that can distribute its content to over 1,550 points of presence (the majority of which is outside Attica) that correspond to 1,011,040 ports.

IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem): Offers advanced voice and multimedia services (Presence, Messaging, Self-Care Portal), based on Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) technology and a centralised architecture.

NGA FTTB/H-GPON: OTE has implemented a pilot programme using a fibre-to-the-building network architecture, mainly in industrial areas. The new Access Network uses Point-to-MultiPoint architecture compatible with the Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology capable of 100 Mbps access speeds.

Corporate responsibility and Corporate Governance

OTE applies international standards for reporting on Corporate Responsibility, especially the International Sustainability Reporting Guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The Annual Corporate Social Responsibility Reports of 2006, 2007 and 2009 were all certified according to the "G3" international guidelines of the GRI. Since 2008, OTE has been included in the FTSE4Good Index which measures the performance of companies meeting globally recognised corporate responsibility standards. In 2010, OTE received the "gold" distinction in the Corporate Responsibility Index. In 2010, OTE won the award for Best Corporate Governance in Greece in the 2010 Corporate Governance Awards.

OTE Telecoms Museum

The OTE Museum of Telecommunications opened up to the public in 1990. It is housed in a 1000 m2 privately owned OTE building, in the district of New Kifisia – Athens. The purpose of the Museum is the research, study and documentation of historical data pertaining to the evolution of telecommunications from ancient times to the present day. The Museum is a member of The International Committee for the Conservation of the Industrial Heritage (T.I.C.C.I.H.).

Criticism

Siemens

In the 2008 Siemens scandal, Siemens AG officials were accused of bribing local politicians and senior OTE officials to win a multi-million dollar contract ahead of the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.

In July 2008, OTE filed a lawsuit against Siemens AG with the district court of Munich, Germany, seeking to compel Siemens AG to disclose the outcome of its internal investigations, with respect to allegations of undue influence and/or acts of bribery in connection with contracts concluded between Siemens AG and OTE from 1992 to 2006. OTE was granted access to the prosecutor’s files and in July 2010, OTE expanded its claim and requested payment of damages by Siemens AG of at least €57.07 million to OTE for alleged bribery payments to OTE employees.

In 2010, the chairman of a special parliamentary committee examining allegations of bribery by Siemens AG was reported by local media to have sent a letter saying that OTE's management should face charges for dereliction of duty and for damaging the interests of the state. In June 2010, Greek prosecutors said that OTE's chief executive officer, Panagis Vourloumis, should face criminal prosecution, accused of corrupt practices in the maintenance of network contracts extended to telecom equipment makers Siemens AG, Anko and Greece's Intracom Holdings SA. Panagiotis Vourloumis lodged an appeal to the Athens Court of Appeals which accepted his request to appear before the judges in person and to provide explanations for the case. In September 2011 the Court fully exonerated Vourloumis.

Comverse Technology

In April 2011, Comverse Technology Inc. (CTI), headquartered in US, admitted to charges related to the payment of bribes to employees of OTE between 2003 and 2006 in order to obtain purchase orders. These bribes totalled $536,000.

The management of OTE ordered an internal investigation to identify any possible involvement of executives and to protect the interests of the company.

Other

Area codes can be seen at List of dialing codes in Greece.

External links

• Official website