Italian utility Enel could share its infrastructure to ramp up nationwide deployment of a high-speed broadband network, a person familiar with the situation told TelecomFinance.
The person ruled out that the company, which is 25.5% owned by the Italian…
Italian utility Enel could share its infrastructure to ramp up nationwide deployment of a high-speed broadband network, a person familiar with the situation told TelecomFinance.
The person ruled out that the company, which is 25.5% owned by the Italian Economy and Finance Ministry, would directly invest in the network project, but said that it held early-stage discussions to provide lines and cabinets.
“There has been a preliminary study on that involving all the main stakeholders, but nothing has been decided yet,” he pointed out.
Enel declined to comment.
Last month, the government announced a new digital strategy plan, saying it would invest €6bn in high-speed broadband, with another €6bn to come from private investors – most likely telecoms operators.
The plan also hints at the idea of reducing costs by optimizing synergies and infrastructure sharing among utilities.
Both Telecom Italia and the government consider Milan-based dark fibre operator Metroweb, which is installing optic fibre beyond Milan to Genoa, Turin and Bologna, central to establishing a national fibre network. However, the government opposed TI’s ambitions to secure control of Metroweb, which has also attracted interest from Vodafone, preferring a partnership that would involve all main market players.
As a result, TI, whose main competitive edge lies in a national copper wire network, is pushing ahead with network upgrades to stay ahead of its rivals, taking advantage of the public funds and incentives due to be allocated for the national high-speed broadband project.
In its recently announced 2015-2017 strategic plan, Telecom Italia said it would invest €10bn in Italy, directing €500m of it towards fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) roll-outs in 40 Italian cities.
However, Metroweb president Franco Bassanini criticised its efforts saying that €500m would only be sufficient to cover some areas of the cities.
Vodafone, for its part, has been buying up fixed-line assets in Europe in a bid to establish fixed/mobile convergence leadership in its existing markets. Vodafone has also been linked to Fastweb, the Italian fixed-line subsidiary of Swisscom.
Reuters recently quoted government official Raffaele Tiscar as saying that a decree on broadband incentives would be ready by mid-April. This comes as Telecom Italia CEO Marco Patuano and others have criticised the government’s broadband plan as lacking regulatory clarity on deadlines and requirements.
