Italian antitrust watchdog AGCM has launched an investigation into the broadband joint venture set up by Telecom Italia and Fastweb last year on grounds that it may breach competition rules. The companies announced the initiative last year, creating a company called Flash Fiber Srl and pledging to invest EUR 1.2 billion to accelerate the rollout of FTTH technology in 29 cities across Italy. However, the watchdog is concerned that the joint decision-making of the country’s two main vertically integrated operators in the fixed broadband sector could reduce competition in the sector. The joint venture could result in the “consistent prevention, restriction or distortion of competition” in the country’s wholesale and retail broadband and ultra-broadband markets, said AGCM.
Italian daily La Repubblica reports that the antitrust watchdog acted after receiving complaints from rivals Wind, Vodafone and Enel's OpEn Fiber unit and that the investigation is set to conclude by the end of December 2017. Both TIM and Fastweb replied to the AGCM’s move by issuing separate statements confirming the validity of the Flash Fiber project and their full cooperation and transparency during the proceedings. TIM said it had behaved correctly and that the project would serve to increase competition and bring about benefits for consumers while Fastweb declared that it was convinced of the correctness of its actions.
