According to a research conducted recently by Gfk Market analysis, the total internet usage in Greece is now stabilised at around 29-30%. Nevertheless it is worth noticing that the usage difference among Athens, other major cities and the province is [...]]]> According to a research conducted recently by Gfk Market analysis, the total internet usage in Greece is now stabilised at around 29-30%. Nevertheless it is worth noticing that the usage difference among Athens, other major cities and the province is important. As a result we can talk about a dual speed internet. In Athens usage reaches a 42% of the population, in Thessaloniki (next biggest city) 37% while in other urban and agricultural areas usages reaches only a 16%.

Further data analysis indicate a significant usage difference among sex (males 33%, females 22%), age (18-24 yrs 43%, 55-64 yrs 10%), education (university level 51%, elementary school 5%) as well as between social classes (upper 52%, medium 22%, lower 6%).

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The registration process started on Monday July 4th and the users’ response was overwhelming taking into account Greek standards.

Only at the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission and within a period of four hours, almost 5.000 applications for registration of [...]]]> The registration process started on Monday July 4th and the users’ response was overwhelming taking into account Greek standards.

Only at the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission and within a period of four hours, almost 5.000 applications for registration of domain names with Greek characters and the Latin “.gr” were submitted for authorization. This number will tend to increase significantly, since applications were also received by the rest of the officially accredited registrars (almost 260) that operate in Greece.

Based on the new regulation, a Greek domain name can be registered in upper or lower case letters based on the Greek alphabet using the equivalent punctuation while at the same time the domain will be registered on behalf of the same user at all possible combinations (with or without punctuation, in upper or lower case letters).

According to the Gr – Hostmaster, the registry of “.gr” domain names, a feature of the registration process of domains will be the concept of “Bundle”. Bundled domains are going to be those that differentiate only in punctuation but are otherwise the same to a main form. Any domain that is a Homograph of the original registration, written with Greek characters that are similar with Latin characters, may also become part of the Bundle.

Domain names that could be registered in each bundle are not automatically registered for the registrant but are instead barred from the list of available domain names until this particular registrant decides to “Activate” one or more of them. Each activation has a cost, depending on the registrar the registrant decides to use.

Even though Greek officials believe that this initiative will further boost the use of internet in Greece, there are some concerns that the new format will confuse people.

It is worth noticing that the maximum registration cost for a domain name for a two years’ period is 44€ (plus 19% VAT), for the transfer of a domain the charge is also 44€ (plus 19% VAT), while the renewal fee for a period of two years is 29.30€ (plus 19% VAT). The companies that have been officially appointed as registrars, need to pay a fee of 11.8€ to the Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission for every registration

Sources :
Hellenic Telecommunications and Post Commission
Gr – Hostmaster
List of the Greek characters available for registration
Greek homograph character table

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Half of the Greek youth (aged 15-29) are online. This is the one of the main findings of a recent report based on the profile of the new generation provided by the Department of Communication and Mass Media of [...]]]> Half of the Greek youth (aged 15-29) are online. This is the one of the main findings of a recent report based on the profile of the new generation provided by the Department of Communication and Mass Media of the University of Athens. Taking into consideration that the current internet penetration of the general population reaches a bit more than 20%, this is promising news for the .gr community, which has to be taken into consideration for future investments on the local internet market.

But what really are the characteristics of the Greek internet user? This is a question replied by the 2004 survey* conducted by VPRC on behalf of the Greek Government. According to the data provided, the main reasons** Greeks use the internet are e-mail (21.5%), information seeking for products and services (17.7%), information for news, weather etc (11.7), gaming (11.5%), music (9.7%), education (7.8%), information for Public Services (3.2%), online shopping (2.3%) and rest (14.6%).

From those people that use the internet, 81,3% declare that have not proceeded into any kind of buy through the web, while 18.7% have done so. Specifically, 81% of those who have made a purchase repeated the action within 2004. Greeks usually buy books (21.1%), PC hardware/software (17.2%), travel tickets (8.3%), CDs (8.2%), apparel (7.6%), services (5.8%), auto parts (5.7%), DVDs (5.6%), hotel booking services (3.8%).

The reasons behind their decision to buy online rest mainly on the convenience provided by the web (28.2%), Unavailability of specific products in the Greek market (28.1%), competitive pricing (26%) and variety of offered goods (10.1%). The average yearly amount spent per user reaches 1.114 euro and the charges are mainly billed through credit cards (58%).

Crossing to the other side, those that do not shop online project their own arguments: No trust on the billing system (34.5%), no need to do so (31.2%), cannot see/touch the product (20.1%) and no trust on shipping services (7.2%).

While this is the profile of the internet user/shopper, according to another survey provided by Eurostat, 87% of Greek SME (Small and Medium Size Enterprises) and 100% of large businesses take advantage of the internet.

Concluding, the Greek Government has undertaken a number of initiatives to educate and facilitate users while at the same time assisting companies both financially and by providing the infrastructure with the aim to promote and increase the usage on internet.

(* Full survey is provided in Greek only, here)
(** Survey respondents were able to choose one single reply for each category of questions)

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