Wind Hellas

Last updated

Wind Hellas Telecommunications S.A.
FormerlyTIM Hellas Telecommunications S.A. (2004-2007)
STET Hellas Telecommunications S.A. (1992-2004)
Company type S.A.
Industry Telecommunications
FoundedJuly 28, 1992;32 years ago (1992-07-28) [1]
Founder STET
DefunctJanuary 11, 2023 (2023-01-11)
Fate Merged into Nova Greece
Successor Nova Greece
Headquarters
Athens
,
Greece
Area served
 Greece
Key people
  • Nikos Stathopoulos (Chairman)
  • Panagiotis Georgiopoulos (CEO)
Products
Owner United Group (100%)
Parent United Group
Website www.wind.gr

Wind Hellas (formerly TELESTET Hellas and later also TIM Hellas) was a Greek integrated telecommunications provider with headquarters in Athens, Greece.

Contents

As of September 2010, Wind was the third largest mobile operator in Greece (after Cosmote and Vodafone) with more than 4.4 million active subscribers. [2] The actual numbers for the years after 2015 are confidential but according to the report of Greek Government for the year 2017, Wind had a market share of 15-25% of active mobile telephone subscribers and 10-15% share of active fixed line subscribers. [3] [4] [5]

On January 11, 2023, Wind Hellas merged with Nova Greece, therefore fixed & mobile telephony, Internet and other Wind services were rebranded to Nova.

History

TELESTET Hellas (1992-2004)

In 1992, TELESTET Hellas was founded, as a subsidiary of the Italian company STET. Through this, Telestet started its commercial operation. On September 30, 1992 the Greek Ministry of Transport and Communications issued a license to STET to create a national mobile telephony services network (GSM). [1] The company invested the sum of 30 billion Greek drachmas (about 88 million Euros) to create the network. This constituted one of the biggest investments in Greece since the end of the Second World War.[ citation needed ]

Commercial operation started on June 29, 1993 when the first call from a mobile phone took place in the country. [6]

In 1998 TELESTET was the first Greek mobile telephone communications company to be listed in international stock markets, the Nasdaq in New York City and the Euronext Amsterdam.

From September 23, 1999, TELESTET operated Iridium, the first mobile-telephony dedicated satellite in Greece. [7]

In June 2001, TELESTET was the first telecommunications company in Greece and one of the first in the world to obtain ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management certification.[ citation needed ]

In June 2001 the operator's GPRS service went live. In July 2001 it was awarded the licence to offer a UMTS service for a concession fee of €146.7 million. The UMTS service went live on January 27, 2004.

TIM Hellas (2004-2007)

On February 8, 2004, the company name changed to TIM Hellas, [8] a part of Telecom Italia and member of FreeMove, the biggest telecommunications alliance in Europe that consists of the companies Orange (UK/France/Switzerland), Telefónica (Spain), ΤΙΜ (Italy) & T-Mobile (Germany).

On April 4, 2005 TIM agreed to sell its 80.87% equity stake in TIM Hellas to funds advised by Apax Partners and TPG Inc. The transaction was for €1,114.1 million which valued TIM Hellas at €1,600 million or €16.43 per share. The transaction was completed following approval by state authorities in July 2005.

On January 31, 2006 TIM Hellas acquired Q-Telecom, [6] Greece’s 4th mobile operator, for €350 million and in May 2007 the two mobile networks were merged. [9] [10]

Wind Hellas (2007-2021)

On February 7, 2007, Apax Partners and TPG announced that TIM Hellas had been purchased outright by Weather Investments, the telecom holding company of Egyptian tycoon Naguib Sawiris, for 500 million Euros of equity plus 2.9 billion Euros of net debt. [11] The company name changed to Wind Hellas on June 5, 2007, [12] in line with Italian telecom operator Wind Telecomunicazioni.

In December 2009, Nassos Zarkalis, previously head of Hellas Online, became CEO of Wind Hellas.

On October 18, 2010 the principal shareholders in Wind Hellas (Mount Kellett Capital, Taconic Capital Advisers, Providence Equity, Anchorage Capital Group, Angelo Gordon and Eton Park International) took over the company and injected 420 million Euros to reduce debt and fund long-term development plans. [13]

Acquisition by the United Group and merger with Nova Greece (2021-present)

On August 16, 2021 it was announced that United Group, which owns Nova Greece, had purchased Wind Hellas for about 1 billion euros after weeks of negotiations with the shareholders of Wind Hellas, [14] [15] and then on January 2, 2023 WIND Hellas merged into Nova Greece, abandoning its own brand in favor of that of the acquiring company. [16] [17] [18]

The crisis and the creditors

The economic recession in Greece caused Wind Hellas severe financial difficulties. Sawiris sold the assets of the holding company (Weather Finance III) to a group of creditors, the SSN Ad Hoc Committee. The group of senior bondholders established a new holding company (Largo Ltd.) which took full control of Wind Hellas in December 2010 and appointed a new board of directors. [19]

Wind Hellas subscriber numbers

Wind issue customers with telephone numbers that begin with either 693 or 690 followed by a seven digit subscriber number. As Wind also own Q-Telecom, they can issue 699 numbers, but these are currently only allocated to new Q-Card customers. Mobile number portability allows customers to port their numbers to and from all Greek networks so Wind customers can also have telephone numbers that were originally allocated to Vodafone or Cosmote.

Vodafone merger talks

In 2011 Vodafone opened talks with the owners of Wind Hellas regarding merging the two firms' operations in Greece, to better challenge market leader COSMOTE. In February 2012 Vodafone pulled out of the talks. [20]

On July 25, 2020 it was announced that Wind Hellas and Vodafone agreed to merge their base stations and antennas into a newly created company called Vantage Towers Greece in which Vodafone would hold a 62% and Wind 38%. This newly company will have 5.200 base stations. This idea comes after Vodafone Group decided to merge all its antennas and base stations that Vodafone is operating in Europe. On March 26, 2021 when Vantage Towers entered the Frankfurt stock exchange Wind Hellas sold its 38% stake to Vantage Towers for 288 million euros. Through the IPO that was launched Wind Hellas bought 100 million euros in shares.

Wind Vision

On 25 April 2018, Wind CEO Nassos Zarkalis introduced the company's Internet Protocol television service called Wind Vision . It was the first Android TV set-top-box in Greece with Netflix integrated. Also, it was the first service offering ultra-high-definition television resolution with HDR 10 technology. The service offered more than 60 channels such as FOX, Disney Channel and National Geographic.

See also

Related Research Articles

The telecommunications and postal services market in Greece is regulated by the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telephone numbers in Greece</span>

This is a list of dialing codes in Greece. The first digit represents the type of service. 1 is used for short codes, 2 for geographical numbers, 5 is used for inter-network routing purposes and VPNs, 6 for mobile services, 7 is reserved for universal access numbers, 8 for reduced-fee services, 9 is used for premium rate services. All dialable numbers are ten digits, except for short codes, 807-XXXX used for calling card access codes, and numbers in the 5 range, used for routing purposes and not dialable by end-subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OTE</span> Greek telecommunication company

Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation S.A. is the largest technology company in Greece. It is one of the three largest companies listed in the Athens Stock Exchange, according to market capitalization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TIM Group</span> Italian telecommunications company

TIM S.p.A. is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, which provides fixed telephony and DSL data services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Q-Telecom</span>

Q-Telecom was the fourth mobile telephony provider in Greece. It began operation in June 2002. As of 2008, it called itself "Q" and called its services "MyQ." The company provided GSM phone service, supported by LMDS and backbone networks, and called itself the only complete and integrated telecom provider in Greece. In May 2007, it merged with WIND Hellas, which was known at the time as TIM Hellas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apax Partners</span> British private equity firm

Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of March 2024, the firm had raised and advised funds of approximately US$77 billion. Apax Partners is one of the oldest and largest private equity firms operating on an international basis.

Vodafone Greece is the Greek subsidiary of Vodafone Group Plc. In 2004 it was the leading mobile operator in Greece. Its headquarters are in Chalandri - one of the northern suburbs of Athens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vodafone Italy</span> Italian telecommunications company

Vodafone Italy is the Italian subsidiary of the UK-based telecommunications company Vodafone Group. The company's headquarters are in Ivrea (TO) and Milan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind (Italy)</span> Former Italian telecommunications company

Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A., more commonly known as Wind, was an Italian telecommunications company of the VimpelCom Ltd. group, which offered mobile telephony services and, through Infostrada, also fixed-line telephony services, Internet and IPTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmofon</span> Mobile phone operator in the Republic of Macedonia

Founded in 2003, Cosmofon was the second GSM mobile phone operator in the Republic of Macedonia. The first call through the network of Cosmofon took place on May 16, 2003, and now its network codes are 075 and 076.

Nova Telecommunications & Media S.M.S.A. is a telecommunications company in Greece which provides broadband, television, mobile and fixed services. It also offers satellite services in Cyprus. It was traded on the Athens Exchange until its delisting in 2021.

COSMOTE MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS known as just Cosmote is the largest mobile network operator in Greece. The company is headquartered in Athens and is a fully owned subsidiary of the Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE), the incumbent telecommunications provider in Greece.

Internet in Greece reached an 82% usage rate among individuals in 2022, yet it slightly trails behind the European Union averages in digital skills among individuals aged 16-74, as highlighted in the European Commission's Digital Decade Country Report 2023. In an effort to bridge this gap and enhance digital proficiency across the nation, Greece implemented the "Works Again" law in April 2022. This law is designed to modernize the Public Employment Service, aligning it more closely with the demands of the labor market and vocational training needs. Additionally, Greece has launched a strategic initiative for Vocational Education and Training (VET) and lifelong learning. This initiative aims to revamp educational curricula to include digital and green skills.

Germanos is a Greek holding company based in Athens, Greece. The Germanos chain of stores is a multinational rook chain of retail electronic goods vendors. They specialize in offering electronic devices such as computers, digital cameras, mp3 players and mobile phones. They also offer fixed and mobile telephony as well as internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind Telecom</span> Italian telecommunications holding company

Wind Telecom S.p.A. was an Italian telecommunications holding company owned by the multinational telecommunications company VimpelCom Ltd., originally controlled by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris.

NOWO is a Portuguese telecommunications company. It is one of the four triple play operators in Portugal along with MEO, NOS and Vodafone. NOWO belongs to the Romanian company Digi Communications.

Francesco de Leo is an Italian business executive in the field of Information and Communications Technology with a particular focus on issues relating to Green ICT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One Albania</span> Albanian telecommunications company

One Albania sh.a is a telecommunications company that operates in Albania. It was founded as Albanian Mobile Communications and was part of the COSMOTE Group since 2000. In 2015, the company joined the Deutsche Telekom group after which it was rebranded as Telekom Albania.

Odido Netherlands is the largest mobile phone company in the Netherlands. It was owned by Deutsche Telekom before being sold to WP/AP Telecom Holdings IV B.V., a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and Apax Partners. From 2021–23, it licensed the T-Mobile brand name from Deutsche Telekom. As of January 2024, it had 6.9 million customers.

References

  1. 1 2 "Government Gazette, companies SA and LTD, 3902/04-08-1992: Announcement of registration to the Limited Companies Register of the Limited Company with the name «STET HELLAS Telecommunications Commercial and Industrial Limited Company (AEBE)»". et.gr (in Greek). National Printing House of Greece. p. 3. Notice: When click on the hyperlink title then it will be automatically downloaded the PDF file of the Government Gazette
  2. ↑ "WIND Hellas 3rd quarter 2010 Results" (PDF). wind.gr (in Greek). October 18, 2010. pp. 1–10. Retrieved October 25, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Termination rates at European level – July 2018". Agency for Support for BEREC.
  4. ↑ "Termination rates at European level – July 2018" (PDF). Agency for Support for BEREC . Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Government Gazette 5292/B/26-11-2018". et.gr (in Greek). National Printing House of Greece. Notice: When click on the hyperlink title then it will be automatically downloaded the PDF file of the Government Gazette
  6. 1 2 "WIND HELLAS Milestones". wind.com.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  7. ↑ "European Survey of Information Society Projects and Actions website". European Survey of Information Society. Archived from the original on July 5, 2008. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Government Gazette, companies SA and LTD, 13326/03-11-2004". et.gr (in Greek). National Printing House of Greece. p. 1. Notice: When click on the hyperlink title then it will be automatically downloaded the PDF file of the Government Gazette
  9. ↑ "Government Gazette, companies SA and LTD, 2707/25-04-2007". et.gr (in Greek). National Printing House of Greece. p. 8-9. Notice: When click on the hyperlink title then it will be automatically downloaded the PDF file of the Government Gazette
  10. ↑ "Government Gazette, companies SA and LTD, 4060/06-06-2007". et.gr (in Greek). National Printing House of Greece. p. 3. Notice: When click on the hyperlink title then it will be automatically downloaded the PDF file of the Government Gazette
  11. ↑ "Funds advised by Apax Partners and TPG announce the sale of TIM Hellas to Weather Investments". February 7, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Government Gazette, companies SA and LTD, 3815/01-06-2007". et.gr (in Greek). National Printing House of Greece. p. 2. Notice: When click on the hyperlink title then it will be automatically downloaded the PDF file of the Government Gazette
  13. ↑ "WIND Hellas press release" (PDF). wind.gr (Press release). October 18, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2010.
  14. ↑ "United Group completes acquisition of Greek telecoms operator Wind Hellas". United Group. January 12, 2022.
  15. ↑ "United Group agrees to acquire Greek telecoms operator Wind Hellas". United Group. August 16, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Companies Wind and Nova are becoming one and offer unlimited communication and entertainment". Kathimerini (in Greek). December 20, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Starts the new consolidated Wind-Nova". Kathimerini (in Greek). December 1, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Completion of the acquisition of WIND by the United Group (UG)". wind.gr (Press release) (in Greek). January 12, 2022. Archived from the original on November 28, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Wind Hellas takeover completed, new board appointed". December 17, 2010.
  20. ↑ Holton, Kate (February 6, 2012). "Vodafone abandons Greek talks with Wind Hellas". Reuters . Retrieved September 15, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.