The Italian government is hoping to raise around EUR 1.8 billion next year by renewing the concessions on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz band spectrum rights, according to details of its Draft Budgetary Plan 2017 seen by news agency Ansa. The plan sent to the European Commission by finance and economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan includes a include a reorganisation of frequency concessions set to expire on 30 June 2018, with the government proposing that the current rights holders make a flat-rate advance payment to extend the rights until 31 December 2029 to pave the way to 5G technology.
However, a report in Il Sole 24 Ore suggests renewing the concessions currently in the hands of Telecom Italia, Vodafone Italia, Wind and 3 Italia could serve to prevent the entry of new operators and may also indirectly affect the merger of Wind and 3 Italia, who agreed to free up assets to help France’s Iliad create a fourth network operator in Italy. The EC only approved the merger because Wind and 3 Italia committed to sell radio frequencies in the 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2600 MHz bands, and share or transfer several thousand mobile base station sites to Iliad.
