Greece
Computing
& Internet Diffusion
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The diffusion of PCs
and the Internet was never very high. Only recently did Greece experience
an increase in PC and Internet usage higher than the European average.
There is still quite a way to be covered, but the national authorities
appear optimistic for the future, backing their optimism with recent statistical
findings.
The use of the Internet
in Greece is improving, yet compares unfavorably to the rest of the European
Union. Comparison with the counties of Greece's particular region is more
favorable, though.
According to a research
conducted by the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Development and the National
Network of Research and Development (E.D.E.T.), presented November 2001,
20.5% of the Greeks use a personal computer. Out of these:
-
44% use a PC exclusively at home
-
23% use a PC exclusively at work
-
19% use a PC both at home and work
The same report indicates
that Internet usage in Greece is at 10.1% (892,220 users). This compares
to a 1999 report of 1.33 million Internet subscribers; this is explained
by
the large number of subscriptions attributable to universities, companies
and public sector institutions. Overall, some 50% of PC users also have
Internet access. Out of the Internet users:
-
56% access the Internet from home
-
31% access the Internet from work
-
7% access the Internet from schools or libraries
-
3% access the Internet from Internet cafes
The internet penetration
level of 10.1% is the lowest in the European Union. According to the National
Committee of Ports and Telecommunications (E.E.T.T.), the countries with
the second lowest penetration levels are Spain and Portugal, with 24%;
Sweden is at the top of the list with a 67% penetration level.
The trend in PC and
Internet usage is also interesting. 71% of PC users started using a PC
between 1997 and 2001, while 75% of Internet users started using the Internet
in 2000 and 2001. The annual rate of increase in Internet users was 33%
in 2000 and 60% in 2001. These trends and their projection for the future
indicate that Greece will reach the European average in PC and Internet
usage levels shortly after 2005. Already the penetration of Internet usage
in Greece is said to reach 12% before the end of December 2001 (compared
to 10.1% in November!).
There were 30 internet
service providers in Greece in 2000, with 99.469 permanent IP addresses.
These were distributed as follows:
| EDET |
33,689 |
33.9% |
| FORTHnet |
19,975 |
20.1% |
| OTEnet |
16,736 |
16.8% |
| HOL |
7,680 |
7.7% |
| Compulink |
4,824 |
4.8% |
| [other] |
3,547 |
3.6% |
| HellasNet |
2,902 |
2.9% |
| IPNG |
2,021 |
2.0% |
| Internet Hellas |
1,801 |
1.8% |
| Intersat |
1,186 |
1.2% |
| TEE |
793 |
0.8% |
| Ideal Telecom |
650 |
0.7% |
| Acropolis |
567 |
0.6% |
| AiasNet |
482 |
0.5% |
| Groovy Net |
390 |
0.4% |
| IPNet |
380 |
0.4% |
| HUB |
367 |
0.4% |
| Dataways |
325 |
0.3% |
| IGN |
290 |
0.3% |
| NetOne |
251 |
0.3% |
| Stargate |
143 |
0.1% |
| Fastnet |
117 |
0.1% |
| Private |
117 |
0.1% |
| Sparknet |
66 |
0.1% |
| Intracom |
51 |
0.1% |
| GlobalOneGreece |
50 |
0.1% |
| Dolnet |
24 |
0.0% |
| Space Net |
20 |
0.0% |
| Telehouse |
20 |
0.0% |
| Panafon |
3 |
0.0% |
| Firstnet |
2 |
0.0% |
Source:.gr Domain Survey
The historical growth
of unique IP addresses, registered domains and WWW sites can be seen in
the following chart (from left to right: unique IP addresses, registered
domains, WWW sites). Dates shown are 31 March 1999, 30 June 1999, 1 October
1999, 31 December 1999 and 31 March 2000.
Source:.gr Domain Survey