Italy sets sights on 'broadband everywhere'

Nieuws Breedband Italië 7 APR 2016
Italy sets sights on 'broadband everywhere'

Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi has reiterated his government’s goal of “broadband everywhere” at an event in Rome attended by the chief executives of operators Wind, Vodafone Italia and utility giant Enel. Renzi said the first tenders to build a high-speed broadband network in digital divide areas that have been unable to attract private investment (known as clusters C and D) will be launched on 29 April. The prime minister said the government’s strategy is to go beyond the objectives of the digital agenda for Europe and bring high-speed broadband at speeds of 30 Mbps to the entire territory by 2020 as well as 50 Mbps broadband to half of the Italian population. “For the first time we have a strategic path,” said Renzi, adding that all pending rollouts would be unblocked and an initial EUR 2.2 billion had already been allocated to digital divide areas.

The event also saw Enel reveal further details of its EUR 2.5 billion plan to help bring ultrafast broadband to around 7.5 million homes in 224 large Italian cities (clusters A and B) via its newly-created Enel Open Fiber venture. Enel CEO Francesco Starace said work would begin in the cities of Perugia, Catania, Cagliari, Bari and Venice, to be followed in the autumn by Florence, Genoa, Naples, Palermo and Padua. Thanks to a commercial agreement with Vodafone and Wind, fibre-optic services could be available as early as May in Perugia. 

The Enel CEO also reiterated that Enel Open Fiber will operate as a wholesale-only player and build infrastructure for other licensed operators. “We are non-exclusive and not in competition with others,” said Starace, adding that negotiations with Telecom Italia remain ongoing and “it would be fantastic if Telecom wants to take part.” He added that financial partners for Enel Open Fiber would be selected "after the summer". According to recent press reports, Telecom Italia is considering cutting up to 15,000 jobs due to competition from Enel.

Categories:

Vast

Companies:

Wind,  Telecom Italia,  Vodafone Italia,  Enel

Countries:

Italië

Tags:

Launch, Fibre, Internet Access, Government policy

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