Telecom Italia (TIM) says it is planning to set up a subsidiary company and bring on board a financial partner to cover the rollout of ultra-broadband infrastructure in so-called ‘white’ areas which are currently unserved or underserved. The telco has decided to not take part in government tenders for subsidised rollouts in C and D regions, which are mainly in rural and semi-rural areas, and plans to go it alone with its fibre network deployments. It recently lost a legal challenge to try to alter the terms of the tenders, which it claimed were unfair and favoured other bidders.
TIM says it intends to cover 95% of the population with a connection offering up to 300Mbps download speeds by mid-2018, with the figure rising to 99% in 2019. It will use a combination of fibre and wireless technologies. According to a report from Corriere delle Comunicazioni, the telco has already begun negotiations with a prospective financial partner for the rural broadband project.