Italy's antitrust and competition authority, AGCM, has announced the launch of an investigation into possible abuse by Telecom Italia (TIM) in the expansion of its fibre-optic broadband network to underserved and rural areas across the country. The watchdog said it will probe whether TIM has purposely tried to slow down the process to roll out broadband in so-called digital divide areas by appealing against the tenders launched by the government, actions that "could obstruct the development of infrastructure competition and the entry of new rivals", according to the antitrust body. The AGCM will also look into whether TIM attempted to pre-emptively lock customers in the areas into long-term contracts by offering anti-competitive commercial offers that cannot be replicated by rival operators.
The probe comes after the government awarded the first of several planned tenders to build a national network to the Open Fiber wholesale-only venture of Italian utility Enel and state lender CDP. Although TIM took part in the tender to roll out fibre in the regions of Abruzzo, Molise, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Tuscany and Veneto, it subsequently withdrew from the second tender and announced that the market conditions had changed and it was therefore setting up a new company dedicated exclusively to the selective development of new fibre infrastructure in underserved areas of the country to compete with Open Fiber.
In a statement, TIM replied that it would prove that it had always acted in compliance with the rules and that the correctness of its actions will ultimately emerge. However, the government has already summoned executives from the company to explain its broadband roll-out plans due to fears infrastructure could be duplicated in some non-economically viable areas.
