Telecom Italia (TI) hopes telecoms regulator Agcom will approve the plan to spin off its fixed-line network into a private company by early 2014.
At a recent parliamentary hearing, TI chairman and CEO Franco Bernabe said the company hopes the regulatory…
Telecom Italia (TI) hopes telecoms regulator Agcom will approve the plan to spin off its fixed-line network into a private company by early 2014.
At a recent parliamentary hearing, TI chairman and CEO Franco Bernabe said the company hopes the regulatory process will conclude by the end of this year or early 2014to ensure “a timely start” to operations at the new company, news agencies reported.
TI’s board of directors approved a plan to spin off the fixed-line network into a new company on 30 May. The plan will see the new company own the assets and resources for managing and developing the passive access network (both copper and fibre) and the active components of the fibre network, reportedly valued at up to €14bn (US$18.16bn).
Commenting on the plan at the time, TI said the new structure will guarantee all licensed operators access to the fixed-line network in accordance with the equivalence of input model.
The plan, which, if successful, should help TI toward its debt reduction target of €27bn by the end of the year, could also trigger an overhaul of the regulatory framework in Italy.
Discussing the spin-off on a May conference call with analysts, Bernabe said it would take a long time to implement as it would be “a transformative deal for the Italian market”.
TI is still in talks with state-controlled lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CGP) about it acquiring a stake in the new company.
