SYZEFXIS II

General information SYZEFXIS II

The SYZEFXIS II project is the “core project” for the establishment of the Public Sector Network as defined in Chapter IX of Law 3979/2011 on Electronic Government. SYZEFXIS II is a very large and complex project with many implementation phases and sub-projects.

It started to be implemented in July 2019.

With its completion, over 34,000 buildings housing public bodies will have upgraded telecommunications services (voice, data and video), with a drastic increase in internet speeds and a large reduction in telecommunications costs.

It is estimated that the benefit will amount to tens of millions of euros per year, as the savings for telecommunication services are expected to exceed 40%.

Main objectives of SYZEFXIS II

The main objectives of the SYZEFXIS II Project are the following:

Almost complete coverage of public bodies (applies to approximately 34,000 buildings including schools)
The upgrade of the broadband of the SYZEFXIS network (using New Generation optical access infrastructures (NGA), where symmetric speed access of 10/100/1000Mbps is also possible)
The upgrade of the existing central services of the SYZEFXIS network – with an emphasis on security – the use of multimedia – telecollaboration – the use of mobile technologies by users
The provision of new value-added telematics services
The utilization and infrastructure upgrade of the 68 Metropolitan Fiber Optic Broadband Networks (MAN)
Maximizing aggregate demand for Public Sector telecommunications services
The development of a new generation open network of the Public Sector, based on advanced network technologies that will offer high-level telecommunications services to public bodies
The provision of basic online services (e-mail, video conferencing, website hosting, etc.), advanced network security services and voice and video services to the operators and consequently the improvement of their operation
Ensuring the required network infrastructure for e-government projects
Ensuring electronic interoperability between public services for fast and secure exchange of information
The unified service to citizens, with automated and user-friendly information and transaction processing systems with the Government
The rationalization and assessment of the needs of Public Bodies for electronic communications services
The reduction of the state’s telecommunications costs and the creation of economies of scale through the aggregation of demand for related services in the Greek State

Benefits of the project

The expected results from the implementation of the “SYZEFXIS II” project are summarized as follows:

The creation of a state telecommunications network, especially for the Public Sector.
The creation of a “broadband environment” for all public bodies and the removal of the “digital blockade” that exists today
The provision of upgraded electronic services to the agencies and the modernization of the Greek Public Administration
The reduction of bureaucracy in the Greek State
The electronic communication, interoperability and cooperation of public services
The most efficient and flexible cooperation of Public Administration Agencies through services such as videoconferencing, telecollaboration, but also the remote access service
Upgrading the working environment of civil servants
The creation of a “digital culture” among the executives of the Greek Public Sector
Easier and faster citizen communication and service from Public Services
The upgraded provision of services to citizens, through automated and user-friendly information and transaction processing systems
The reduction of the “digital divide” in the context of the national and European digital strategy
The utilization by the State of its investments in IT and communication technologies.
The saving of resources for the Greek State, through the intended “summation of demand”.
All electronic services of Public Bodies will be served (eg TAXIS, Electronic Prescription, Elections, ASEP, National Printing Office, Pedagogical Institute, Census of D.Y., Town Planning, Hospitals, etc.)
Most of the Portals of Public Bodies will be hosted
250,000 email accounts will be hosted
Public Bodies will be connected to the network with access speeds of up to 1 Gbps
The total internet provision in the backbone network will be highly available and of the order of 10 Gbps
All modern infrastructure security and data protection technologies and practices will be adopted and implemented.
Other sensitive national or international networks will certainly be connected, such as the pan-European classified E-Government network of the E.U. “S-TESTA”.

SYZEFXIS ΙΙ Project partitioning

The SYZEFXIS II project is divided into sub-projects. The sub-projects and corresponding services are reflected in the Table below:

Project planning

A/A	Syzefxis II Sub-projects	Contributory Services	Budget (incl. VAT 24%)
1	8 Access Islets	· Access network – physical medium · Distribution Network · Trunk link · Telephony management / Ending phone calls	€388,480,716.00
2	Wireless Islet	· Smartphone-type connections · SMS and data services	€38,495,800.00
3	Telephony / video conferencing / cabling equipment & Security	· Security equipment and services with centralized management · Telephone infrastructure · Video conferencing / cabling infrastructure	€133,473,883.96
4	SIX & Data Center	· Network/trunk nodes · Internet feed · Central Telephony Management System (IMS) · Video Conferencing Central Management System (MCU)	€7,992,447.39
5	ISP Services & SLA	· ISP Services · Network Service Monitoring (SLA) Services	€20,093,351.84
Total:			€588,536,199.19

Sub-projects

Access Islets

In the main project SYZEFXIS II, the Greek Territory has been divided into eight (8) “telecommunication compartments” – Islets. (Communication between the Agencies that will belong to SYZEFXIS II will be achieved through the interconnection of the Islet to which they geographically belong to the central node of SYZEFXIS II – SIX. Through the SIX node, the interconnection of the Agencies with the Internet, Intranets as well as and the utilization of the central services of SYZEFXIS II (Central Services Subprojects).

In more detail, the new Islets based on the Prefectures of the country that are geographically included in them, are presented below:

A/A Nisidas	Island Coverage Areas
1	Attica
2	Central Greece & Cyclades
3	Western Greece and Ionian Islands
4	Peloponnese, Ionian Islands and Western Crete
5	Thessaly, Epirus
6	Western Macedonia and Eastern Crete
7	Eastern Macedonia and Thessaloniki
8	Thrace, North Aegean Islands and Dodecanese

It is noted that each Islet includes both the entities already served by the SYZEFXIS network and any other public entity that geographically belongs to the borders of the Island and will be served by SYZEFXIS II in the future.

In the context of the project, additional actions will be implemented, which are necessary for the implementation, better utilization, organization, structure, monitoring and control of the operation of the “SYZEYXIS II Network”, as well as for the creation of value-added services for Public Administration bodies, which will be provided through the “SYZEFXIS II Network”.

The projects that will be implemented in the context of this action are:

Supporting operating mechanism of the “SYZEFXIS II Network”.
- Security policy configuration and security auditing for the “SYZEFXIS II Network”.
- Development of interoperability applications and Government services on mobile devices.
- Publicity and promotion of the services of the “SYZEYXIS II Network”.
- Service of virtual computers (desktop virtualization)

and their total budget amounts to €8 million (incl. VAT 24%).20

The SYZEFXIS II project is essentially an evolution and expansion of the SYZEFXIS – SYZEFXIS I projects, which were implemented and supported on behalf of the Greek State by Information Society SA, and includes the supply of all the necessary infrastructure as well as all the necessary telecommunications services for an indicative number of approximately 34,000 public buildings covering a very large percentage of the telecommunications needs of the public sector (compared to the 4500 buildings of the original SYZEFXIS) for a period of at least 3 years.

The geographical distribution of the Bodies belonging to SYZEFXIS II is nationwide.

Commitioning

The project was designed in the period 2010-2013. In 2014, the financing of the three co-financed sub-projects was secured from the NSRF 2007-2013. In the same year, the announcement of the respective tenders began. Legal objections followed in three sub-projects, which resulted in the non-completion of the tender process within the NSRF 2007-2013 programming period and consequently the loss of Community funding. The legal challenges were concluded in 2016.

The project was re-activated in 2018 and at the same time the required administrative actions for the financing of the three sub-projects from the NSRF 2014-2020 began. All the Project contracts were signed in July 2019, when their implementation began. The sub-projects implemented as Framework Agreements signed the Executive Contracts in the 1st quarter of 2021 and are proceeding with implementation

Project Summary Data

Budget:	€498,611,000
Period of implementation & operation:	2019 – 2023
Project owner:	Ministry of Digital Governance
Implementing Body:	Information Society SA
Beneficiaries:	All Public Bodies (directly) Citizens (indirectly)