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Italian utility company to roll out fibre alongside its electricity network to become wholesale network operator.
Enel on Wednesday shared details of a plan to roll out a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in 224 Italian towns and cities at a cost of €2.5 billion.
The utility company will install cables alongside its electricity network, which reaches the homes and businesses of 32 million people, it said in a statement.
The multi-year project will be carried out in phases. During the first few years of the rollout, Enel expects to cover 7.5 million homes with ultrafast broadband, thereby helping to bridge the digital divide in Italy, it said.
Enel will operate its FTTH network on a wholesale-only basis. The company has signed a letter of intent with Vodafone and Wind with a view to setting up a commercial and strategic partnership with them, but said it is open to collaboration with all retail operators.
The project was approved by the firm’s board of directors earlier this week. It will be carried out by a new entity created for the purpose, known as Enel OpEn Fiber.
"The creation of the Enel OpEn Fiber strategic plan is an important step for achieving the objectives of the European Digital Agenda and Italy’s ultra-broadband strategy," said Enel CEO Francesco Starace.
The use of Enel’s electricity network "allows for widespread coverage of the national territory at competitive prices, creating value for Enel and for all the operators who want to use [it]," he added.
