Metroweb will sign a letter of intent with Wind and Vodafone over a possible collaboration to speed up fibre deployment across the country, a source familiar with the matter told TelecomFinance.“The letter arrived today. It is similar to the one…
Metroweb will sign a letter of intent with Wind and Vodafone over a possible collaboration to speed up fibre deployment across the country, a source familiar with the matter told TelecomFinance.
“The letter arrived today. It is similar to the one [signed] with Vodafone,” the person said.
Earlier today, local daily Milano Finanza reported that the three operators were close to signing the document, the first step in creating a newco aimed at accelerating a nationwide optic fibre deployment.
The report stated that the letter will also be signed by Metroweb’s shareholders F2i and FSI.
In March, Metroweb signed a letter with Vodafone, which, like the one to be signed today, did not reportedly include any financial details.
Yesterday, a person familiar with Metroweb told this news service that it was not possible to develop a business plan, which would include financial terms, prior to the publication of a decree detailing the timing and procedures of the government’s broadband plan.
The decree, which should reportedly be published by the first week of June, is expected to include the specific financial incentives and tax breaks available to the project’s winning bidders.
The person said that Wind, owned by Russia’s Vimpelcom, is evaluating whether or not to acquire a stake in Metroweb or ink a commercial agreement.
Unlike Telecom Italia, which had sought full control of Metroweb, Wind and Vodafone have agreed to work together with the partly state-owned operator on the government’s €12bn high-speed broadband plan.
However, Wind, which is in merger talks with 3 Italia to create an “equal joint venture”, may not have adequate financial resources to make a significant direct investment in the project, as it struggling to reduce its nearly €10bn debt burden.
Telecom Italia in talks with Enel
The three-way partnership may however hinder Telecom Italia’s ambitions to lead the country’s transition to fibre.
In the meantime, the incumbent is in early-stage talks with leading utility Enel over a possible collaboration, TI president Giuseppe Recchi told Reuters yesterday.
The telco is evaluating the technical, industrial and financial feasibility of the project, Recchi was quoted saying, pointing out that it was still too early to discuss the timing of a potential agreement.
Telecom Italia recently said it would increase its FTTH investment for 40 cities from an initial €500m to €650-700m.
Enel CEO Francesco Starace has said that using his company’s existing infrastructure to house fibre optic cables could help reduce high-speed broadband implementation costs by 80%. Enel is 25.5% state-owned.
The company, he explained, could lay cables inside its own pipes when it connects 33 million households to smart meters over the next four years.
“The press reports increase the possibility of forming two opposed partnerships to deploy ultra-fast fixed networks,” ICBPI telecom analyst Stefano Vulpiani said.
He added that the chances of a newco involving Telecom Italia are slim. Vodafone is reportedly seeking to limit majority stakes to Metroweb’s current shareholders: CDP, F2i and FSI.
