OTE
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| 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)[1] |
| Operating income | €384.9 million (2010)[1] |
| Profit | €39.6 million (2010)[1] |
| Total assets | €9.538 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | €1.653 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 31,090 (end 2010)[1] |
| 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.[2] 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.
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[edit] History
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 20% 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.[3]
Following the sale of a further 5% in 2009[4] and another 10% in 2011[5] of OTE’s share capital by the Greek state to Deutsche Telekom, the state holds 10% and DT 40%.
[edit] Services
The company covers the whole country with PSTN and ISDN telephone lines and also offers ADSL in most urban areas.[citation needed] OTE is a group of companies owning, besides the OTE fixed-line company, an ISP (Otenet), a mobile phone company (Cosmote) and other companies including OTE International Investments which in its turn owns telcos in Southeastern Europe (Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, etc.). On 3 November 2006 OTE sold its 90% stake in the Armenian telecom provider ArmenTel to a Russian company OJSC Vimpel-Communications.[citation needed] OTE also runs a TETRA network.
On July 14, 2009, the company announced its intention to endorse the VDSL technology and then upgrade its optical fiber network to cover the increasing demand of broadband internet services in Greece.[6]
[edit] Subsidiaries
OTE is in possession of various daughter-companies, including Cosmote, Otenet and OTEGlobe which offer mobile, ISP and Internet backbone services respectively. The quality of Otenet's services has often been described as 'inadequate'. The poor performance of their networks on Greece's many small islands has drawn considerable criticism, especially.[7][8][9] OTE owns 20% of Telekom Srbija as of 1997.
[edit] Controversies
[edit] 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.[10]
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, will 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.[11][12]
[edit] 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.[13]
[edit] Other
Area codes can be seen at List of dialing codes in Greece.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f "Annual Report 2010". OTE. http://www.ote.gr/portal/page/portal/InvestorRelation/OTEIRMainPage/OTE_OIKONOMIKES_KATASTASEIS_IFRS_Q4_2010_GREEK_home.pdf. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
- ^ "Greece: OTE says Q3 net profit down 19 pct". Associated Press (CNBC). 5 November 2009. http://www.cnbc.com/id/33655191. Retrieved 2009-11-10.[dead link]
- ^ Deutsche Telekom
- ^ Papachristou, Harry; Fragou, Tatiana (18 June 2009). "Greece to sell 5 pct OTE stake to Deutsche Telekom". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssIntegratedTelecommunicationsServices/idUSLI45104020090618. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ^ "Greece sells 10 percent OTE stake to Deutsche Telekom". Reuters. Jun 6, 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/us-greece-telekom-idUSTRE75523X20110606. Retrieved 2011-06-14.
- ^ IN.gr | πρώτη σελίδα (Greek)
- ^ Athens News, february 2006
- ^ Athens News, june 2007
- ^ Athens News, january 2008
- ^ Siemens (11 November 2010). "Legal Proceedings". Siemens. http://www.siemens.com/press/pool/de/events/corporate/2010-q4/2010-q4-legal-proceedings-e.pdf.
- ^ Dow Jones Newswires (21 September 2010). "Greek OTE Defends Management Amid Siemens Corruption Inquiry". Fox Business. http://m.foxbusiness.com/quickPage.html?page=19453&content=42941540&pageNum=-1.
- ^ Samuel Rubenfeld (21 September 2010). "Greek Telecom Company Defends Itself Amid Bribery Probe". The Wall Street Journal. http://blogs.wsj.com/corruption-currents/2010/09/21/greek-telecom-company-defends-itself-amid-bribery-probe/.
- ^ Office of Public Affairs (7 April 2011). "Comverse Technology INC. Agrees to Pay $1.2 Million Penalty to Resolve Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act". Department of Justice. http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/April/11-crm-438.html.
[edit] External links
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