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Italy: Telecoms merger pushed to break broadband logjam

By  |  June 23, 2019

Italy’s sovereign wealth fund is maneuvering to pull off a multibillion-euro telecoms merger and end a prolonged corporate stalemate that has held up Rome’s plans to create a national broadband network, reported Reuters.

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which has €425 billion (US$480 billion) in assets, is a major shareholder in two crucial building blocks of any national network, former phone monopoly Telecom Italia (TIM) and its newer rival, Open Fiber.

TIM and Open Fiber, which is owned by CDP and utility Enel, are rolling out rival fiber-optic networks across Italy, raising concerns of duplication and wasted investment at a time when Italy, a digital laggard, needs to catch up fast, reported Reuters.

Full Content: Reuters

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