Italy is working on a €4 billion plan to encourage telcos to extend fibre network coverage.
Sources cited by Bloomberg this week claimed that senior government officials met to discuss the proposed incentive plan on Wednesday.
The report said that at least €2 billion will be used to incentivise fibre deployment in rural areas. It is thought the €4 billion total is a preliminary figure, and that Italy may seek to tap an additional €2.4 billion from the EU’s Regional Development Fund.
European governments are under pressure to hit Brussels’ target of providing at least 30 Mbps broadband to every citizen by 2020.
According to a study released by Telecom Italia in December, only 21% of Italians can receive a 30 Mbps connection, well below the EU average of 62%.
The talks come at a time of speculation about the future of some of the country’s fixed-line players.
Vodafone and Telecom Italia have both reportedly shown interest in acquiring Metroweb, which operates a 7,200-kilometre fibre network in Milan.
In the past, Vodafone has also sounded out Swisscom-owned Fastweb about a possible bid. After initially rebuffing the U.K.-based telco, a report in October claimed that Fastweb – which is in the midst of rolling out fibre to 100 Italian cities – was open to striking a deal.
