The Italian government is ready to hand over the first €2.2 billion of a broader national ultrafast broadband investment pot.
The funds are now available, Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi announced at a press conference late last week.
&quo t;Today we are putting on the table [an] immediately available €2.2 billion," Renzi said.
The funds form part of an ambitious ultrafast broadband rollout plan that is valued at €12 billion in total, Renzi explained. €5 billion of the sum will come from the private sector and €7 billion from the state, he said.
Of that €7 billion, the government will provide €4.9 billion, while the remaining €2.1 billion will come from regional institutional funds.
The first projects under the scheme will get underway in the autumn. The aim is ensure "complete coverage of the country, so there is not even a single zone left behind," Renzi said.
The participation of the private sector will be necessary in order for the state to realise its goal of making ultrafast broadband available to all Italian citizens by 2020, added Antonello Giacomelli, undersecretary of communications, in a statement.
"We are marching at high speed towards ultrafast broadband," Renzi said, describing the improved connectivity as "truly the key to the country."
