Techno-economic Insights into Technology and Alternative Business Strategies for PPDR Networks: A Case Study of Greece

Abstract

The emergence of 4G/5G broadband networks, which enable high-speed data and real-time video, marks a critical turning point for Public Protection and Disaster Relief (PPDR) communications. However, their adoption depends on overcoming the technical, regulatory, and economic challenges. This study applies a comprehensive techno-economic evaluation, combining radio coverage modelling, cost modeling, and business model analysis, to compare two deployment strategies in Greece. A fully public, dedicated Government-Owned Government-Operated (GO-GO) network and a Contractor-Owned Contractor-Operated (COCO) model leveraging a commercial 5G network via network slicing. We find the CO-CO model to be roughly 44% more cost-efficient over a 10-year horizon than GO-GO, largely due to the reuse of existing sites, fiber backhaul, and shared spectrum resources. In contrast, the GO-GO approach affords full governmental control and security isolation but is constrained by a narrow dedicated spectrum and incurs higher capital and operational costs, yielding only a limited broadband capacity. Under strict service-level agreements, the CO-CO scenario can deliver comparable mission-critical reliability while enabling greater flexibility and scalability through continuous 5G upgrades. These findings have broad policy relevance for Greece and similar EU countries, suggesting that shared infrastructure partnerships offer a more affordable and effective path to modernize PPDR networks.