Forthnet and ZTE have signed a cooperation agreement with the Chinese companies Shanghai Gongbao Business Consulting and KaiXinRong Group for exploring a business partnership financing a fibre-optic network in Greece.
According to Forthnet, the move follows an agreement signed between it and ZTE in 2016 regarding the deployment of such a network.
The deal with Shanghai Gongbao Business Consulting and KaiXinRong Group envisages investing up to €500 million over the next seven years. The bulk of the investment would be carried out in the first three years, when it is expected there will be a subsidy of the demand, for fibre optic connections by EU resources, managed by the Greek government.
The cooperation agreement was signed last Saturday (May 13) during the visit of Alexis Tsipras, the Greek PM, to Beijing for the “Belt and Road” Forum for International Cooperation.