The European Commission has approved a €2 billion ($2.1 billion) Italian initiative to roll out high-performing 5G mobile networks, the executive branch of the European Union announced Monday (April 25).
Officials said the measure is part of Italy’s strategy to assist households and businesses make the transition to digital across the country.
“This will enable consumers and business to access high-quality 5G services, contributing to the economic growth of the country and to the EU’s strategic objectives relating to the digital transition,” Margrethe Vestager, commissioner for competition and executive vice president of the European Commission, said in a statement.
The operation will run through June 2026 and will be funded by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The RRF was created to mitigate the economic and social impact of COVID-19 and make European economies and societies more sustainable, resilient and better prepared for the challenges and opportunities of the digital transitions.
The Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan includes investments in the electronic communications sector and the deployment of fixed and mobile networks.
Earlier this year, PYMNTS reported the Council of the European Union had made digital transformation in the region one of its key priorities to focus on during its six-month tenure.
See also: EU Seeks To Strengthen ‘Digital Sovereignty’, Unfazed By Meta Threat To Withdraw From Region
As part of these efforts, there are four strategies that comprise Europe’s digital sovereignty. These include ensuring the European Union’s role as a “power for innovation” by attracting foreign investors and foreign talent, as well as ensuring the role of the EU as a “power of openness” by encouraging free, open and shared digital standards, a conference report noted.
The Scale-up Europe initiative, which was launched one year ago in partnership with the European Commission, created 10 home-grown technology companies that are each expected to be valued at more than €100 billion ($114 billion) by 2030.
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