Telecom Italia’s infrastructure operator FiberCop and the telecom operator TLC Telecomunicazioni have signed an agreement to develop the FTTH access market through the latter’s involvement in the FiberCop network co-investment project.
According to Telecom Italia (TIM), the agreement will see TLC Telecomunicazioni use the fibre optic secondary access network up to FiberCop’s homes to develop the FTTH access market in seven municipalities in Lazio, Apulia and Campania. The municipalities covered by the agreement are: Formia, Gaeta, Castellaneta, Bellona, Pietramelara, Sparanise and San Salvatore Telesino.
TIM adds that the fact TLC Telecomunicazioni is taking part in its co-investment offer through FiberCop provides further validation of FiberCop’s investment plan, which will ensure FTTH coverage for around 60% of households in Italy by 2026.
It also says the agreement reached confirms the effectiveness of the co-investment model, which allows all interested operators to participate in the deployment of optical fibre in Italy in an infrastructure competition framework. Moreover, it speeds up the process of overcoming the digital divide in the country and makes ultrabroadband connections with speeds of over 1 Gbps available to households and businesses.
FiberCop is majority (58%) owned by TIM, with KKR Infrastructure (37.5%) and Fastweb (4.5%) being the other shareholders.
