Italian operator Fastweb has announced an expanded fibre-optic plan to bring high-speed broadband at speeds of up to 200 Mbps to 50 percent of the Italian population by 2020. Under its previous four year plan, the operator committed to extending its fibre-optic coverage to 7.5 million households, or 30 percent of the Italian population, by the end of 2016. The new project increases the rollout to 13 million households and businesses in 500 cities in a total self-financed investment of EUR 500 million.
Fastweb said it will be using different technologies to speed up deployment, directly connecting medium-sized cities up to 100,000 inhabitants with eVdsl technology providing speeds of up to 200 Mbps and at the same upgrading Vdsl2 technology (up to 100 Mbps) and eVdsl technology (up to 200 Mbps) in the medium/large cities previously connected to the the company’s fibre-optic network under the 2014-2016 plan, beginning with Rome and Milan.
Fastweb added that the first cities to be connected at speeds of up to 200 Mbps will be medium and small towns with the greatest need for ultra-broadband infrastructure, beginning with Arezzo, Viterbo, Riccione, Rimini, Trento, Massa, Pistoia and Caserta on 11 April, followed by additional launches in subsequent months, to reach the goal of 1 million homes with up to 200 Mbps by the end of 2016 and 13 million homes by 2020.
The operator said its investment in network and innovation over the duration of the plan will total EUR 2 billion, including EUR 500 million for the network upgrade. Fastweb currently leads the Italian high-speed broadband market with around 650,000 customers, approximately half of the country's total.
