Tim has signed an almost 150 million euro deal with Eutelsat, a French satellite telecommunications company, for “expand the offer of ultra-broadband services through satellite technology - reads a note - in line with the goal of progressively closing the digital divide in Italy starting from 2021 and thus cover even the most isolated and remote areas of the country”. The news was anticipated by Tim's CEO, Luigi Gubitosi, during the annual meeting of the Anci.
"Based on the agreement - continues the note - Tim will purchase the entire transmission capacity for Italy on the two new satellites for the next few years very high performance that Eutelsat has activated and will activate in the next few months: the Konnect satellite for the distribution of satellite ultra-broadband and, subsequently, the Konnect Vhts satellite which, once operational, thanks to its greater capacity, will make it possible to offer connections even more performing up to 200 Mbps and to a greater number of customers”. The ultra-broadband offer will therefore serve to cover even the most isolated areas of the national territory.
"We have ordered a series of satellites over Italy to implement a project we call 'Tim everywhere' to arrive early next year with broadband even in the most impossible places", he explained Gubitosi in connection with the Anci assembly. Thanks to the agreement, “we will reach everywhere with broadband, from the island of Montecristo to the hermitage or the remote cabin in the mountains. At this point Tim has all the technologies in the world to bring the broadband connection and from the end of 2022, with the arrival of other satellites, the service will be complete so we could really be anywhere".
In these months of health emergency, “two categories of citizens have been created – Gubitosi said – one who could do work and school remotely and the other who could not. In about six months we have connected another 3.000 Municipalities to ultra-broadband. Two thirds of the white areas have already been wired and we will reach 75% by the end of the year. By the end of the year there will be the first Region without digital divide, Puglia, where we will reach around 99% of fiber-optic cabinets and ultra-broadband will be available to almost 100% of citizens".
Meanwhile, according to some rumors, Tim would also be a buy 10% of Satispay, a digital payment company, with an investment of 15 million euros.
Wednesday, at the end of the morning, Tim's share on the Stock Exchange gains 1,7%, to 0,3578 euros.
