eWORK 2000 - European Telework Week

New Ways to Work 2000European TeleworkOf course Internet usage is realted to the growth of PC usage. According to official evidence in the firstquarter of 1999 PC usage in Greece rose up to 5 % of Greek families when the equivalent pointer in Spain was6.5%, in Portugal 7% and in the entire EU 15 %.In parallel The Greek Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) has launched an extensive networkmodernisation programme to meet the increasing demand of its national and multinational customers.According to official evidence (OTE, March 2000) the established capacity for ISDN lines was:• Basic Rate Access: 58,094 (mainly for personal use and small & medium enterprises).• Primary Rate Access: 3,396 (for large enterprises and Organisations).And the occupied capacity was:• Basic Rate Access: 46,580 (mainly for personal use and small & medium enterprises).• Primary Rate Access: 2,128 (for large enterprises and Organisations).The growth of the Mobile Phone services in Greece is so rapid that is estimated that it about 4,000,000people will be users of mobile phones at the end of the year 2000. Today the penetration rate of Mobile Phoneservices in Greece is at the level of 23.1% of the population and is expected to reach the level of 31% in 2001.According to predictions of Warburg Dillon Read, the Greek market for Mobile Phones in the next 3 years willbe as shown in the table below:Year 2000 2001 2002 2003Penetration Rate 34% 39.5% 42.5% 44.5%The average growth in the number of mobile services subscribers is 85% from March 1998 till today, and thenumber of subscribers is at 68.28 % of the total for the traditional phone services in Greece.Case StudyThe model of teleworking, even in a restricted scale, is appealing in Greece. The leading microchipConstruction Company “Intel Hellas” has applied to a full extent teleworking without permanent offices,allowed its executives to work from their houses, using equipment and other facilities provided by theCompany. These activities are based on Internet and telecommunications facilities.ConclusionGreece is facing a new era of liberalisation of telecommunications and also the effects of participation in theEconomic & Monetary Union. The existing legal framework (law 2639/98) gives a profound base on which toboost the economic development.Contact: Constantine Dikaois, Epsilon, email: epsilon@hol.gr- 75 -