ATHENS – Struggling with one of the European Union’s slowest, least-reliable and most expensive Internet connections, Greece has turned to an Alabama company to help provide an end-to-end fiber broadband network in Athens.

It’s part of a plan to begin a high-speed wholesale network in the western neighborhood of Peristeri through the state’s Public Power Corporation in collaboration with the American company Adtran.

When expanded nationwide, PPC plans to support all local broadband service providers and connect over three million homes and businesses with fiber over the next four years.

PPC has approximately six million electricity customers, making it the leader in the wider market of Southeast Europe. Supporting the utility’s current sustainability, digitization and growth initiatives, PPC wanted to deploy a future-proof, nationwide wholesale fiber network to expand its business opportunities and help connect its country to higher broadband speeds.

PPC selected the Adtran open, disaggregated, 10G fiber access platform to deploy its pilot broadband access network infrastructure, said BusinessWire of the new venture being rolled out.

In the first phase of PPC’s fiber deployment, it is deploying PON technology across its existing power distribution network infrastructure to deliver wholesale gigabit services. Later, it can use the same fiber access network to introduce smart grid and other advanced grid modernization applications to improve power network efficiency and operations as well.

“We value Adtran’s experience in working with utilities to help launch greenfield broadband networks that deliver high-speed services and help further modernize and optimize the power distribution network,” said Alexandros Paterakis, Deputy CEO at Public Power Corporation. “