Greece stunned by ADSL charges

Shocking

Spare a thought for Net users in Greece. First the Government banned (temporarily) all computer games. Now, they've finally found out that they're about to get ADSL after waiting two years or so for incumbent telco, OTE, to complete its trial.

That's a bloody good reason for a party, no?

Unfortunately not.

Reg readers in Greece have written to say that the cost of the service is so high it's likely few people will be able to afford it.

Upfront charges start at around €130 (£90) with the monthly subscription for a 384kbps service running in at €55 (£38) a month. A 512kbps service costs €101 (£70).

Snag is, these prices are just for the copper wires and exclude sales tax. They also exclude any ISP services and their charges.

ISPs have yet to say how much they're going to add on, but early estimates suggest that the entry level 384kbps service could cost as much as €150 (£102) a month. And this in a country, where the average gross salary is a little over 80 per cent of the EU average, according to the European Commission.

Net users in Greece are stunned by the cost and are getting ready to voice their protest.

One reader told us: "First the law that forbid all arcade games since our government couldn't tell an illegal betting machine from asteroids and now … THIS!!!" ®

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