GREECE

• From "Greece" by Alkiviadis Psarras and Vassilis Gavrilis, chapter 17 in The International Comparative Legal Guide to Telecommunication Laws and Regulations 2008, published by the Global Legal Group, November 2007:

  "Law 3431/2006 - This is the main legal instrument governing electronic communications... The law mainly harmonizes the Greek law with the [EU] Directives, by simply transferring into the Act the wording of the Directives...

  "The process of acquiring a licence for an antenna that leads to a decision of the [telecom regulator] EETT, presupposes very bureaucratic procedures involving Municipalities, Town Planning Authorities and the Authority for examination of radio emission levels (the National Committee for Atomic Energy)... there is specific legislation prohibiting installation [of antennas] in an area less than 300m from the perimeter of schools and specific measurements of the spectrum must exist that will clear the specific antenna [from radiation safety concerns]...

  "Can the use of spectrum be made licence-exempt? If so, under what conditions?

  "No. It is not possible if the spectrum is to be used for commercial reasons. All operators need to have a general licence. However, no specific licence for the spectrum is needed if free spectrum is used, in zones that in the [National Spectrum Allocation Plan] have been characterized as free zones and where no exclusivity in use and therefore protection from interception is given..."

• "Εξαιρούνται της Yποχρέωσης Aδειοδότησης οι Ειδικές Kεραίες Wi-Fi Αποστολή σε φίλο" (Outdoor WiFi antennas are excluded from the obligation for special authorization), EETT press release in Greek, 7 May 2006. Published in the Official Journal Εκδόθηκε το Φ.Ε.Κ. 739/20-6-2006: outdoor antennas for 2.4 and 5 GHz WLANs no longer need special authorization so long as the radiated power is less than 1 watt.
• "Short-Range Devices" - the regulatory agency's English-language summary of SRDs that can legally be used in Greece. The use of SRDs is regulated by Presidential Decree 44/2002 (Official Gazette 44/A/7-3-2002) "Radioequipment and telecommunications terminal equipment and mutual recognition of their conformity. Transposition of the Directive 99/5/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 9 March 1999 to the Hellenic legislation"
• The superceded rule from 2002: Κανονισμός Εκχώρησης Μεμονωμένων Ραδιοσυχνοτήτων σε Σταθμούς Ραδιοεπικοινωνιών για Ιδία Χρήση (ΦΕΚ/895/B/16-7-2002) (Regulation of Transmission on Specific Radiofrequencies by Stations for One's Own Use), Official Journal of the Hellenic Republic, 895/V/16-7-2002 (in Greek), 17 July 2002: "closed" 2.4 GHz Wi-fi networks that are used indoors and not connected to public networks no longer require authorization or government notification. However, "special authorization" was still required for wireless networks connected to the Internet or used outdoors. [Note that the rule change of 7 May 2006 changed this.]
• ΚΕΙΜΕΝΟ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΑΣ ΔΙΑΒΟΥΛΕΥΣΗΣ ΓΙΑ ΑΣΥΡΜΑΤΑ ΤΟΠΙΚΑ ΔΙΚΤΥΑ (Text of Public Consultation on Wireless Local Networks), 5 August - 30 September 2004, in Greek: What are the benefits and risks if the regulator opens up the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands to free public use? what would be the economic impact? EETT seems most worried about quality of service and competition between unlicensed WLANs and licensed LMDS (Local Multipoint Distribution Services). A summary of the comments received during the consultation is here (19 November 2004, 105 pages in Greek).
• ACISgroup - the first Greek ISP to offer its customers wireless access. Their website says they plan to build 2,000 access points throughout Greece.
• "Strix Systems Tapped for Deployment of first wireless mesh network in Greece," Strix press release, 30 May 2007: "Galatsi will provide fee-based broadband services to residents and businesses, free Internet access to students, and free Internet access and VoIP service for municipal employees. BGM Ltd., a wireless networking company based in Galatsi, has tested and deployed the Strix system, which covers an area of 4 sq. km. in the city center..."
• a href="http://networks.silicon.com/mobile/0,39024665,39263795,00.htm">"Greek island gets wireless mesh network," by Natasha Lomas, Silicon.com, 24 July 2008: "Tourists and locals on the Greek Island of Patmos will soon be able to enjoy island-wide wi-fi... courtesy of $100 laptop founder Nicholas... Negroponte who owns a holiday home on it... The wireless Patmos network - due to launch this summer - has been jointly developed by MIT Media Lab and Nortel Solutions Interoperability Laboratory in North Carolina. It utilises Nortel mesh technology, with an initial infrastructure that includes eight core nodes and 50 access nodes..."
• "Greece's first municipal Wi-Fi deployed in Athens," TeleGeography, 7 November 2007.
• "Wi-Fi Access in Greece" by deTraci Regula, GoGreece, 30 November 2004: "At the moment, Athens International Airport is offering Wi-Fi access but elsewhere, it's still hard to find. And when you do find Wi-fi in Greece, it can be expensive. With few users, the hourly fees are steep..."
• "Building the Next-Generation Wireless Network: Community-based WLANs" - special issue of the HERMES Newsletter, January-February 2005 (number 30), Athens University of Economics and Business (in English), edited by Mary Bina.
• Myphone.gr's "unwired community" bulletin-board (in Greek).
• Athens Wireless Metropolitan Network, with over 650 active nodes - but apparently they cannot offer Internet access to their guests and neighbors.
• Patras Wireless Network (info@patraswireless.net).
• Heraklio Students Wireless Network (wireless-web@uoc.gr) on Crete.
• Thessaloniki Wireless Metropolitan Network (info@twmn.net).

Europe - Regional Overview