The clash on ultra-broadband is still in the background but Thomas Pompeii, number one of Open Fiber, goes straight on his way: “We are in contact with 15 banks that wanted to intervene in this operation. These are the major American, European and Italian banks” says the manager in the Senate Industry Committee where hearings are underway on the Bul Plan, the fiber optic infrastructure project, the one launched by the government, thanks to which the 100 Mega band will arrive in the "white" areas, those where no operator initially wanted to invest because they are considered non-market. It is a project financing of 3 billion, financed by the State to reduce the gap that separates Italy from the rest of Europe. There first race it was won by Open Fiber (50% Enel and 50% Cassa Depositi) and the second tender too. Neither Tim nor Fastweb showed up in either of the two tenders, while Vodafone and Wind3 chose the partnership with Open Fiber. Now Tim wants to compete autonomously even in the white areas that he had initially disdained, with the risk of compromising the profitability of public intervention and thus duplicating the network in those same areas. Hence the controversy of recent days between the government and the CEO of the former monopolist company, Flavio Cattaneo who confirmed: "In February 2018 there will be two lines".
It has even been written that the same banks were now more cautious in granting loans to Open Fiber. But the CEO of Pompeii specified in the Senate: "We are discussing with 15 banks" and recalled that the plan "was approved in April", adding that to conclude the process of a project financing of that entity - 3 billion in total - "usually it takes a year, in this case it will take less, I hope we will be able to complete it by the end of the year, in the meantime they are also available to finance in advance". In these hours, in fact, the company is about to receive a bridge loan of 500 million for the laying of the network, subscribed by Unicredit, Société Générale and Bnp Paribas as anticipated by Reuters.
The game, therefore, is far from over. For the third tender, the government will reopen consultations and this could mark a meeting point. In the meantime, however, Open Fiber will bring the fiber directly to homes (FTTH) while Tim will arrive at the cabin on the street (FTTC), then continuing with the copper pair of which it is the sole owner. It is not at all the same thing since the FTTC technology is less expensive and guarantees a slower and less stable connection than the FTTH one. But this is a detail that no one, it is clear why, seems to pay attention to.
The gap was filled today by Franco Bassanini, president of Open Fiber: “In France you can say 'I carry fiber' if it reaches homes, otherwise it's a 'mixed' network, since the performances are different. It would be right and useful if it were foreseen, as in other countries, that the consumer must be told exactly what to bring". Bassanini, heard in the Senate, therefore believes that a clarification from the "political decision-maker" would be "useful". In other countries it is explicitly established that what is valid for other products is valid for the fiber, I cannot say that it is olive oil if it is not completely "
“We state clearly – he noted – that we bring the fiber to 100% of the area we connect in the black and gray areas, in the white ones it reaches almost 90% of homes, including scattered ones, and the rest is connected with wireless systems that guarantee more or less the same result. Our other competitors combine fiber to the cabinet and then copper, fiber to the distribution point and in some rare cases ultra-wide fiber. In a general definition of ultra-broadband” so "It would be useful if we should be precise and that we shouldn't give misleading messages to the public".
(updated at 13,10 pm Thursday 22 June)
