The Digital Middle Ages of the greater Kozani region. Can someone intervene for a solution?

Open letter by Dimitris Karathanasis

Mr.. MPs N.. Kozani,

K. Regional Governor West. Of Macedonia

K. Mayor of Kozani,

Mr.. other stakeholders, which in any way you can intervene.

For a year now, the need for digital communications has multiplied due to a pandemic, in the wider area of ​​Kozani but also in neighborhoods within the city, the quality of connectivity from fixed and mobile companies instead of improving, far below the expected expectations of their customers.

Things seem to be not just stagnant but in constant deterioration month by month.

• Currently in Municipal Units around Kozani which are located within a radius 3 to 10 kilometers, such as Walnut, Dawn, Sickle, Heavy, White fountain etc., in this year 2021, as in many districts of the city of Kozani, Σκ΄ρκα, Xenia and elsewhere, the provision of 3G - 4G wireless INTERNET is characterized as insufficient to the point that in essence there is no normal (or not at all) Internet access.
• In these areas (and not only) also, NO fiber optic network has been developed and installed which will provide the internet with decent performance. And it is uncertain when this will NEVER be launched - and if care has been taken, has probably stuck to bureaucratic gears in Greece and Brussels and for projects that will obviously take many years to mature to be auctioned and completed. We are constantly hearing about the UltraFast BroadBand program (UFBB) which is supposed to solve the problem of the aforementioned settlements and Municipal Units to provide high access speeds but there is no information on a possible schedule of implementation and development and of course NO commitment.
• A ridiculous case is the Municipal unit of Ano Komi where the 2 nodes with cabins (δλδ speeds 50Mbps and above) while the third node has remained old type providing speeds from 2 to 8 MBps (in the best case) thus dividing the settlement into 2 pieces literally.
• At the same time, in the same areas are located and trying to gain access to the digital 21st century dozens of small and medium businesses for which communication is often done only by phone.
• Especially from the moment when the transition of the DIGEA networks to new frequencies was completed and at the same time the distance learning of the students and the distance work in the private and public sector were in progress., the use of wireless INTERNET 3G - 4G remained and remains practically and virtually impossible.
• Beyond all this, forecasts in the workplace and education for the last months 2021 predict the return of distance learning and teleworking at least to a significant extent. The children, Employees and businesses in these areas will once again be called upon to meet the demands of the Internet over the past twenty years, until 3-4 Μbps, at the same time that in Athens even in ordinary households speeds are offered 200 or also 1000 Μbps. Indicatively it is mentioned that in Serbia Kozani e.g.. the wireless INTERNET 4G touches them 70Mbps (and WELL DONE) while in the city of Kozani at peak hours speeds are recorded only 1Mbps making work impossible.
• Also a terrible phenomenon of devaluation, are the cases of Municipal Metropolitan Networks (MAN) owned by the Municipal Units, which have been left to their fate by their construction. As a result, several key municipal and regional services (such as Hospitals, municipal stores, urban planning, etc.) suffer from failures that would have been avoided with a network upgrade that has never been done for years.

Mr.. Members of Parliament, K. Mayor of Kozani and other stakeholders who in any way you can intervene in the telecommunications committee, at OTE, in VODAFONE, WIND, COSMOTE and anywhere else needed, in order to remove this injustice which is an obstacle to the proper functioning and support of students, schools, services, employees, businesses but also in general in the development of our region, keeping us trapped in the Digital Middle Ages.

We live in an area that has apparently been abandoned to KAI's fate in terms of digital infrastructure, in contrast to other areas of Greece which have been enjoying telecommunications services of higher standards for years and can progress as societies through the services provided.

So immediately :

1. To require reinforcement but also to increase the number of mobile base stations 4G for the best population coverage of the area of ​​Kozani city and around Municipal Units. It is a short process and inside 1-2 months we will have results.
2. Require that all Municipal Units be connected with fiber optic directly, as well as to be given by the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Posts CLEAR implementation schedule of the UltraFast BroadBand project (UFBB), but mainly and which settlements and city areas of our prefecture it includes, and who he leaves out (no bids have been made for this project yet)..
3. In the face of the impending abolition of the 3G network, the coverage and speeds of the 4G network should be intensified. With the advent of 5G in mind Require the Commitment of telecommunications providers to be obliged in population coverage per Prefecture (95%-98%) and not population coverage of the whole country 95%-98% which is now leaving our Prefecture and Western Macedonia in the "digitally unclaimed"..
4. At the moment there is a multiplicity of providers in access cabins within the city and settlements. στην πόλη της Κοζάνης οι καμπίνες είναι ιδιοκτησίας Vodafone ενώ στις πέριξ ενότητες οι καμπίνες είναι άλλου παρόχου. Must Να απαιτηθεί να θεσμοθετηθεί μια διαδικασία όπου όλοι οι τελικοί πελάτες να έχουν την ίδια αντιμετώπιση και δικαιώματα σε παροχή αλλά και διαχείριση βλαβών. Και όχι να χωρίζονται σε γειτονιές ανάλογα με το σε ποιον πάροχο ανήκει η τηλεπικοινωνιακή καμπίνα της γειτονιάς.
5. ΝΑ απαιτηθεί από το Υπουργείο Ψηφιακής Διακυβέρνησης ο εκσυγχρονισμός του ενεργού εξοπλισμού μητροπολιτικών δικτύων ΜΑΝ πόλεως Κοζάνης κλπ καθώς κα να συναφθεί σύμβαση συντήρησης και διαχείρισης βλαβών με τους αναδόχους.

Η ΑΜΕΣΗ και ΕΠΙΜΟΝΗ παρέμβασή σας είναι ΕΠΙΤΑΚΤΙΚΗ.

Το Χειμώνα θα είναι αργά…

Ευχαριστώ για την προσοχή σας.

Δημήτρης Στέργιου Καραθανάσης