OTE GROUP

OTE Group invests in the continuous improvement of its local telecommunications infrastructure and the expansion of its services and products using the best available technology. It operates under a customer oriented philosophy,to maximize the satisfaction of its clients but also in a responsible manner, always presenting innovative and sustainable products and services.It has the capacity,expertise and financial base, to continue to invest in upgrading and expanding the telecommunications infrastructure in Greece, helping to achieve the objectives of the Digital Agenda 2020 and the country’s transition to the new digital era.

Sustainable services addresses all major Stakeholder groups recognized by the Companies who are as follows:

• Customers and potential customers
• Companies
• Science, research, education institutions
• NGOs,interested groups
• Media
• State/ Government Institutions
• Employees, potential employees and their representatives
• Suppliers
• Shareholders, bondholders, investors, analysts

The sustainable services reported, covers the time period 01/01-31/12/2015.

Through specialized products and services OTE and COSMOTE enable customers to use broadband for the direct or indirect improvement of their activities,welfare and environmental performance:

COSMOTE Cloud Video Conference: upgraded video teleconferencing infrastructure with new enhanced services,where companies can save significant resources but also achieve increased efficiency due to the reduction of the movement of their personnel.

Driving Performance: new service designed to ensure"green"and safe driving and achieve significant reduction of operating costs(reaching up to 25%)in fuel and maintenance for the fleet of the company vehicles.

COSMOTE e-Track: monitoring and managing the corporate vehicle fleet in real time reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

National Telemedicine Network project, is already in operation: includes 43 telemedicine units that connect health centers in the Aegean islands to central hospitals in Athens and other regions. Through sophisticated chambers,residents and visitors of the islands are guaranteed tele-medicine and tele-advice in real time. This eliminates the distance to large hospitals,reducing unnecessary movements and airlifts. 250 doctors have already completed their training,while tele-consultation and tele-education services are already on offer.

Smart Grids: grids which utilize communication between machines (Machine to Machine,M2M)to collect and process information in an automated way, to improve the energy and economic efficiency, reliability and sustainable production and distribution of electricity. According to the Smarter 2030 study, about 15% of the GHG emissions reduction potential, which can be achieved with the use of ICT products and services, is due to smart grids.

e-Energy: solutions that aim at reducing energy costs and creating a"greener" profile. Specifically, the new Energy Management service provides a system for monitoring the energy consumption of a company in real time,with the ability of even remote intervention.The aim is to ensure a reduction in energy consumption, operating in business costs, but also in its carbon footprint.

e-Applications: development of electronic applications for the Group’s clients(such as e-bill, e-payment, electronic submission of requests for telecommunications providers,and the service "yourbusiness.gr")that reduce paper consumption and enable better resource management.

Electronic Services for the Fire Department: implementation of an IT project, which is expected to contribute significantly to fire prevention and firefighting. By installing advanced information systems in its Control Center, the Fire Department will be able to coordinate the firefighting units, both before and after the event of an incident,to better manage incidents and resources while providing continuous and timely information to citizens in emergency situations.

Energy responsible products: In 2015, OTE introduced the home broadband router Speedport Entry 2i to its product line,which offers extremely low power consumption of up to 47% compared with older equipment with the same functions that do not support the Energy Efficient Ethernet. In order to inform its customers, OTE has created a short environmental guide on the routers’ compliance with international environmental standards European and Regulations such as Ecodesign,CR 278/2009,etc.

OTE Group invests in research and development,and in the last six years has participated in a total of forty research programs in collaboration with more than 400 partners,including companies,universities and research/innovation institutes from Greece and other European countries.

In the context of improving environmental performance,both companies are involved in research activities aiming at developing products and services to reduce their"environmental footprint"and, thus enhancing environmental protection. The activities are part of both European Commission programs/initiatives such as the 7th Framework Program for Research and Technological Development, the Horizon 2020 program and the 5G-PPP (Public Private Partnership) program,as well as national initiatives financed by the General Secretariat for Research and Technology(GSRT).

Currently, thirteen out of twenty-eight active research and development projects aim at reduction of resource use and/or environmental protection.

In order to reduce paper consumption, OTE and COSMOTE develop and implement IT applications for intra-operations as well as for services provided to customers. Initiatives such as:

• option of sending electronic bills to customers,
• use of customers’ electronic signature at COSMOTE and GERMANOS retail network(for contract renewals,address changes,deactivations etc.), where available,
• option to renew air time by using e–voucher offered to COSMOTE pre–paid customers,
• electronic submission and handling of applications made by telecommunication operators (1.34 million applications)and
• program "Work Force Management (WFM)" concerning Technical Field Operations resulted in savings of 150.5t paper.

The sustainable services reported, cover the operations and activities of OTE and COSMOTE in Greece.

The Group is continuously enhancing its products and the services it provides to its customers, improves its financial results, provides new job opportunities, works with a large number of suppliers, pays state taxes and contributes (financially and in kind) to society.

Beyond the economic value, the companies provide equal opportunities and facilitate access to digital world for vulnerable social groups, takes measures to reduce its environmental footprint and provides products and services that help its users/customers reduce their environmental impact.

Despite the fact that the availability of broadband connections for fixed and mobile telephony services has reached almost 100% of the Greek territory, the penetration rate mainly in fixed broadband lines connections, is still a constant challenge as the country remains below the EU average. Broadband connections in July 2015 totaled 3.330.143 (30.3% penetration of the population), compared to 3.156.071 in December 2014(28.7% penetration). The increase during the quarter was 174.072 lines.

Our regular brand and customer satisfaction surveys indicate that we continue reaping the fruits of our leadership across the fixed and mobile markets in terms of being a trusted,reliable and preferred brand,and providing network superiority.In 2015 the increase of revenues from  ICT services reached 12% annually.