Telecom Italia (TIM) has decided not to take part in the second tender announced by state-owned infrastructure agency Infratel to build a national high-speed broadband network in digital divide areas. Submissions for the EUR 1.2 billion tender to roll out and manage infrastructure in the regions of Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, Sicily and the Autonomous Province of Trento were due on 20 February. TIM took part in the first tender launched by Infratel but was outbid by Enel's OpEn Fiber firm. It has also submitted a complaint over the terms of the tender before the Regional Administrative Court of Lazio.
In a statement, TIM stressed that the results of the tender process will have no operational or strategic impact on the company, and no effect on its market position. It added that it had already updated its investment plan at the end of 2016 to roll out high-speed broadband selectively to some white areas of the regions included in the Infratel tender process. Under its new business plan, TIM has pledged to invest some EUR 5 billion over the next three years on rolling out fibre-optic cables to reach 95 percent of the Italian population by 2019.
