A sharp decline in wholesale revenue stands out in OTE’s results for the first half of 2026, reflecting both a deliberate retreat from a high-volume, low-margin international business and shifting competitive dynamics in Greece’s telecom market.
OTE, Greece’s largest telecommunications operator, reported wholesale revenue of €180.3 million for the six-month period, down from €300.7 million a year earlier. The roughly €120 million decline, or 40%, was by far the steepest contraction among the group’s main revenue lines. Much of that drop was expected.
The main driver is international wholesale traffic, a business in which OTE carries telecommunications traffic on behalf of other operators. It can generate substantial revenue because of the volumes involved, but contributes little to profitability. OTE has been progressively exiting parts of the business, accepting a sizable reduction in reported sales in exchange for shedding activity with limited economic value.
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That process isn’t over. The company says the decline in international wholesale revenue is expected to continue into 2027. A separate challenge is emerging closer to home. Rival telecom operators in Greece are expanding their own fiber-to-the-home, or FTTH, networks, reducing to some extent their reliance on wholesale access purchased from OTE. The company says domestic wholesale revenue remains under pressure from competitors’ fiber deployments and broader changes in the market. Yet the fiber buildout is also creating a countervailing trend.
As OTE expands its own fiber network, competitors are increasingly using that infrastructure to serve their customers. Some 48% of rival operators’ FTTH subscribers are now connected through OTE infrastructure, up from 46% a year earlier. New wholesale FTTH connections also reached record levels.
That distinction matters because the €120 million hole in wholesale revenue didn’t translate into a decline in OTE’s overall top line.
Group revenue rose 2.5% in the first half to €1.715 billion, as growth elsewhere more than offset the wholesale contraction. System-solutions revenue jumped 64.3%, while mobile-service revenue increased 3.8%.
