Hellas Online

Hellas Online was a Greek fixed-line telecommunications company headquartered in Athens. Established in 1993, it began as one of the first Internet service providers in Greece to offer public dial-up access. Its initial service was concentrated in the Athens metropolitan area, but the company later expanded dial-up availability across Greece through low-toll telephone numbers. This early ISP role placed Hellas Online within the first generation of Greek companies helping households and businesses gain access to the public Internet. The company’s business model broadened substantially after its acquisition by Intracom in 2006. Rather than remaining primarily an Internet-access provider, Hellas Online developed into an integrated fixed-line operator offering broadband Internet, fixed telephony, and related communications services to residential customers, corporate clients, and wholesale partners. Its broadband portfolio included ADSL and SHDSL products, while its fixed-telephony offering could be sold separately or combined with Internet access. This evolution reflected the wider movement in European telecommunications from standalone dial-up access toward bundled broadband and voice services. In 2007, Hellas Online acquired Attica Telecom, described as the largest provider of fiber-optic services in Athens at the time. The transaction strengthened Hellas Online’s metropolitan network and increased its ability to provide higher-capacity connectivity in the country’s most densely populated market. During the same year, it formed a strategic partnership with Vodafone Greece. The relationship connected Hellas Online’s fixed-line capabilities with Vodafone’s mobile and commercial presence in Greece and later became important to the companies’ broader market relationship. Hellas Online also expanded through corporate restructuring. In June 2008, it merged with Unibrain, a company listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, and continued under the Hellas Online name as a listed business. Its network included approximately 3,500 kilometres of fiber-optic infrastructure as of November 2008. The backbone was described as the second-largest in Greece after that of OTE, the incumbent operator. Through physical points of presence and access to unbundled local loops, Hellas Online achieved substantial coverage in Athens and Thessaloniki, while also serving other major and densely populated areas. The company’s proprietary infrastructure linked Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patras and connected its data centers with local access sites. This allowed Hellas Online to backhaul traffic without relying entirely on leased capacity from OTE. In some cases, it could also make spare network capacity available to Greek or international telecommunications operators, giving the business both retail and wholesale dimensions. In 2009, Hellas Online entered the IPTV market. Its television service combined free-to-air programming with news, information, music, children’s content, sports programming, and high-definition on-demand material through a Video Club service. The launch extended the company’s role from connectivity provider toward a broader communications and content bundle. Hellas Online ultimately ceased to exist as an independent brand and corporate operation following its merger with Vodafone Greece in 2014. Before the dissolution, it had 531,563 local-loop-unbundling subscribers. Its historical significance lies in the transition it represents: from an early Greek dial-up ISP to a broadband and fixed-line operator with a substantial fiber network, wholesale capabilities, enterprise services, and a converged IPTV offering.

Hellas Online was founded in 1993 in Athens during the formative period of public Internet access in Greece. It initially operated as an Internet service provider, offering dial-up connections in the Athens metropolitan area. The service was subsequently extended nationwide through low-toll telephone numbers, making the company one of the early providers to bring public dial-up Internet access beyond the capital. The company’s scope changed after it joined Intracom Holdings in 2006. Hellas Online began adding fixed-line telecommunications services and broadband products, including ADSL for general Internet access and SHDSL for business-oriented connectivity. Its offering developed into a combination of Internet, fixed telephony, and bundled communications services for residential, corporate, and wholesale customers. In 2007, Hellas Online acquired all of Attica Telecom, a major Athens fiber-optic provider. The deal increased its metropolitan fiber capabilities and helped it compete more directly with Greece’s incumbent fixed-line operator, OTE. Hellas Online also entered a strategic partnership with Vodafone Greece in June of that year. The partnership was part of the company’s effort to combine its fixed-network assets and broadband operation with a larger telecommunications distribution and customer ecosystem. A further corporate change took place in June 2008, when Hellas Online merged with Unibrain, an Athens Stock Exchange-listed company. The combined business operated under the Hellas Online name and became listed. Around this period, the company reported a fiber-optic network of approximately 3,500 kilometres. Its backbone was characterized as the second-largest in Greece after OTE’s network. Hellas Online used points of presence and unbundled local-loop access to reach customers in Athens, Thessaloniki, and other Greek population centers. The network connected Athens, Thessaloniki, and Patras and linked Hellas Online’s data centers to local access sites. This infrastructure supported high-capacity backhaul and reduced the company’s dependence on leasing capacity from OTE. Hellas Online also had the ability to lease spare capacity to other telecommunications operators, giving it a role in the wholesale market in addition to its retail and business activities. Coverage was particularly strong in the two largest metropolitan areas, with the company reporting coverage of more than 80 percent of the Athens population and more than 70 percent of the Thessaloniki population through its access arrangements. In 2009, Hellas Online broadened its consumer proposition again by launching IPTV. The service included free-to-air channels and international programming across news, information, music, children’s, and sports categories. It also offered high-definition on-demand programming through a Video Club service. IPTV allowed Hellas Online to package content alongside broadband and fixed telephony, reflecting the industry’s move toward triple-play communications services. Hellas Online remained an important alternative fixed-line operator in Greece during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Before its dissolution, it had 531,563 local-loop-unbundling subscribers. The company ultimately merged with Vodafone Greece in 2014 and ceased operating as an independent entity. Its legacy is that of an early Greek ISP that built a substantial fixed communications platform and evolved into a broadband, fiber, enterprise, wholesale, voice, and IPTV provider.

1. 2014Merger with Vodafone Greece

   The independent Hellas Online operation ends following its merger with Vodafone Greece.

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2. 2009IPTV launch

   The company launches an IPTV service with linear programming and Video Club on-demand content.

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3. 2008Merger with Unibrain

   Hellas Online merges with listed Unibrain and continues as a listed company under the Hellas Online name.

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4. 2007Acquisition of Attica Telecom

   The acquisition adds Athens fiber-optic infrastructure and strengthens Hellas Online’s fixed-network position.

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5. 2006Joins Intracom Holdings

   Hellas Online becomes part of Intracom Holdings and expands into broadband and fixed-line telecommunications.

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6. 1993Hellas Online is founded

   The company begins operations in Athens as a dial-up Internet service provider.

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A Greek alternative fixed-line operator that progressed from early public dial-up Internet access to broadband, fixed voice, fiber-network, enterprise, wholesale, and IPTV services.

• Dial-up Internet accessInternet access1993

  Hellas Online’s original service was public dial-up Internet access, first offered in the Athens metropolitan area and later extended throughout Greece using low-toll telephone numbers. The service positioned the company among Greece’s early commercial Internet providers and established its initial consumer and access-network base.

• ADSL and SHDSL broadbandBroadband telecommunications2006

  After joining Intracom Holdings, Hellas Online expanded into broadband with ADSL for mainstream Internet access and SHDSL services aimed particularly at business users. These products formed part of a wider portfolio combining Internet access, fixed telephony, and bundled communications.

• Fixed-line telephonyFixed telecommunications

  Hellas Online provided fixed-telephony services to residential and corporate customers, either as standalone connectivity or in combination with broadband. The service was supported by the company’s fiber backbone, unbundled local-loop presence, and metropolitan access network.

• Corporate and wholesale connectivityBusiness telecommunications

  The operator served business and wholesale customers through high-capacity network connections, data-center interconnection, local-loop access, and backhaul. Its infrastructure could also provide spare capacity to other Greek and international telecommunications operators.

• Video Club IPTVIPTV and video on demand2009

  Launched in 2009, the IPTV service combined free-to-air channels with news, information, music, children’s, and sports programming. Its Video Club component added high-definition on-demand content, extending Hellas Online’s broadband proposition into television and entertainment.

• 2014Merge with Vodafone GreeceM&A

  Hellas Online had developed a substantial fixed-line subscriber base and maintained a strategic relationship with Vodafone Greece.

  What changed. The company merged with Vodafone Greece and was dissolved as an independent operation.

  Aftermath. The Hellas Online corporate operation ended and its independent brand presence was absorbed into Vodafone’s Greek telecommunications business.

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• 2009Launch IPTV and Video ClubProduct launch

  Broadband operators were extending their offers into bundled television and on-demand content.

  What changed. Hellas Online introduced IPTV with free-to-air and thematic programming, together with high-definition on-demand content through Video Club.

  Aftermath. The company added a content and entertainment layer to its broadband and fixed-telephony services.

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• 2008Merge with UnibrainM&A

  Hellas Online pursued a corporate structure that would support its continued expansion and public-market presence.

  What changed. In June 2008, Hellas Online merged with Athens Stock Exchange-listed Unibrain and continued under the Hellas Online name.

  Aftermath. Hellas Online became a listed company while retaining its telecommunications identity and operating brand.

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• 2007Acquire Attica TelecomM&A

  Hellas Online sought stronger fiber-optic infrastructure in Athens, Greece’s largest metropolitan market.

  What changed. The company acquired 100 percent of Attica Telecom.

  Aftermath. The acquisition expanded Hellas Online’s Athens fiber footprint and supported its development as a network-based competitor.

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• 2006Move from ISP operations into fixed-line telecommunicationsStrategy

  Hellas Online began as a dial-up Internet provider, but the Greek market was moving toward broadband and integrated fixed communications.

  What changed. Following its entry into the Intracom Holdings group, the company added ADSL, SHDSL, fixed telephony, and broader retail, corporate, and wholesale services.

  Aftermath. The strategy transformed Hellas Online into an alternative fixed-line operator with a substantially broader network and service portfolio.

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• 2014Hellas Online merges with Vodafone Greece

  Hellas Online was dissolved following its merger with Vodafone Greece, ending its existence as an independent telecommunications company and brand.

  M&A
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• 2009Hellas Online launches IPTV service

  The company introduced an IPTV offering with free-to-air channels, news, information, music, children’s and sports programming, plus high-definition on-demand content through Video Club.

  Product launch
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• 2008Hellas Online merges with Unibrain and becomes listed under the Hellas Online name

  In June 2008, Hellas Online merged with Athens Stock Exchange-listed Unibrain and continued as a listed company under the Hellas Online name.

  M&AOther
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• 2007Hellas Online acquires Attica Telecom

  The acquisition of Attica Telecom strengthened Hellas Online’s fiber-optic presence in Athens and supported the company’s development as an alternative fixed-line operator.

  M&A
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• 2007Hellas Online establishes a strategic partnership with Vodafone Greece

  Hellas Online and Vodafone Greece entered a strategic partnership linking the fixed-line operator’s communications capabilities with Vodafone’s position in the Greek market.

  Other
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• 2006Intracom acquires Hellas Online

  Hellas Online became a member of the Intracom Holdings group, after which it expanded beyond dial-up Internet access into broadband and fixed-line telecommunications services.

  M&A
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1. Hellas Online