Free Internet for Paxos and the small Greek islands

The Deputy Mayor, Giorgos Lichnos, sent the island’s application to the responsible ministry following the request from Sofronis Mitsialis on behalf of the Citizen’s Information Office.
The programme for Free Internet was announced in the Government Newspaper following the decision of the Ministry of the Interior and Digital Policy to allow free broadband connection for permanent residents of remote Greek islands.
This applies for the first time to Paxos, with approximately 1140 households and Antipaxos with 10 households.
The legislation (from 9 October 2017) specifies that the grant applies to permanent residents, civil servants and those serving in the armed forces or security forces and that the aforementioned will have access to mobile or satellite broadband internet connection.
To qualify for the grant, an unmarried person must have an income of not more than 16,000 Euros per annum and a married couple not more than 30,000 Euros. The grant is per household.
The budget for the programme comes to 3.5 million Euros.