Telecom Italia (TI) has asked market regulator Consob to assess the remarks made by CDP and Metroweb chairman Franco Bassanini over the value of the incumbent’s network.
On Monday, Bassanini said on the sidelines of a university conference, that…
Telecom Italia (TI) has asked market regulator Consob to assess the remarks made by CDP and Metroweb chairman Franco Bassanini over the value of the incumbent’s network.
On Monday, Bassanini said on the sidelines of a university conference, that “according to some, [TI’s copper wire network] is overvalued in the financial statements with a notable goodwill,” local media reported.
Bassanini reportedly added that the operator would receive significant benefits from taking part in the government’s high-speed broadband project together with the other operators, but would also be negatively affected by the switch-off of its copper network, a key asset.
“As concerns the declarations reported by the press and media and attributed to Franco Bassanini, chairman of CDP and Metroweb, in connection with the group network, Telecom Italia hereby declares that it submitted a report to Consob for its assessment and to allow it to make all relevant decisions,” the telco said in a statement.
Matteo Renzi’s government, which launched a €12bn high-speed broadband plan in March, has held talks over a public-private partnership between Telecom Italia and dark fibre operator Metroweb, which is 46.2%-controlled by state-backed lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), to accelerate a national fibre roll-out.
However, the talks between the parties collapsed since the government opposed the telco’s desire to secure full ownership of Metroweb, although TI had been willing to give the state a guarantor role to ensure equal network access to rival operators.
The recently approved broadband plan targets broadband speeds of 100 Mbps to 85% of the population – and a minimum of 30 Mbps to all Italians – by 2020 through a mix of private and public investments, including EU structural and development funds.
However, Telecom Italia has pushed for a more gradual transition to fibre in order not to lose the competitive edge lying in its ageing national copper wire network.
As a result, the government scrapped initial plans to force the company to switch off its copper network entirely and convert to fibre, saying that telcos could choose the most appropriate technology to upgrade the network.
In its recently announced 2015-2017 strategic plan, the operator said it would invest €10bn in Italy, directing €500m of it towards fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) roll-outs in 40 cities.
