Italy’s €12bn high-speed broadband plan has been put on hold, with the government announcing that it will allocate part of the project’s funds next year.
Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of an event in Rome, deputy general secretary Raffaele…
Italy’s €12bn high-speed broadband plan has been put on hold, with the government announcing that it will allocate part of the project’s funds next year.
Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of an event in Rome, deputy general secretary Raffaele Tiscar told reporters that the government hopes to start releasing part of the public funds in spring 2016.
He added that the resources, which are due to include a mix of tax credits, vouchers and other financial incentives, will be broken down on a regional basis. The industrial plan, he added, will be defined at a later stage, once the European Commission, which is reviewing the government’s digital strategy, gives its approval.
The delay is a major blow for the industry, which had tread carefully due to the regulatory uncertainty surrounding the plan.
Matteo Renzi’s government had been expected in June to publish a decree specifying the incentives to be assigned to those offering high-speed broadband services with speeds of over 100Mbps.
However, the bill has been put on ice until September. “It’s a measure which requires time and Renzi’s decision to suspend it to assess its viability in September was a wise one,” Tiscar was quoted saying.
According to local media, incumbent Telecom Italia was not happy with part of the proposed regulations, which allegedly favoured dark fibre operator Metroweb.
A strategic partnership between the partly state-owned fibreco and TI to speed up nationwide fibre deployment collapsed earlier this year over corporate governance issues.
Following the failed deal, Metroweb signed a letter of intent with TI rivals Vodafone and Wind.
