Greece
Impacts
on the Non-IT Business
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Greek folk dances at an OTE-sponsored
festival
The non-IT related business
in Greece has still to feel the impact of information technology. In general,
technological improvements tend to be introduced in Greece far later than
when they are in western Europe. The validity of this statement is diminishing
in the last 20 years or so and especially during the 1990's.
If there was a word
to describe the situation in Greek telecommunications until the mid-1990's,
this could easily be "frustration". Quality of service was rather poor,
while fees were (and still are...) the highest in Europe. The monopoly
of OTE was the absolute obstacle: OTE was simply the Government, period.
With deregulation, the customers, including companies, have a choice of
more providers. Fortuitously enough, OTE has been able to improve its services
tremendously and satisfaction is now widespread (the high rates charged
still being a source for complaints). Anyway, the current developments
strongly favor the customers and the future looks bright, mostly thanks
to the impact of competition and the spreading of technological advances..
Satellite and microwave
links are quite common now in Greece, even (rather: especially!) at remote
islands and mountainous provinces. Even isolated farms use wireless links
to communicate with their customers.
The appearance of more
ISPs with strong financial and technological background, has also helped
the customers. A few years ago, a very slow connection would be hailed
as the Eighth Miracle of the World - if it worked in the end, it was OK.
Nowadays, standards are quite high and improving rapidly, to meet the standards
in the most advanced countries.
It is rather amusing
that the most widely felt impact of IT was the ability of the Hellenic
Taxation Agency to organize its own files, therefore resulting in highly
accurate estimation of taxes due. This was a development that a considerable
number of Greeks were prompt to describe as "most unwelcome"!