The agreement had already been announced last June, but the official announcement only arrived on Wednesday: Infratel Italia and Open Fiber signed the concession contract for all six lots awarded, for the construction of an ultra-broadband network large in the market failure areas of the ten regions affected by the second call.
Open Fiber was awarded the tender for a figure close to 1,2 billion euros. Also given the absence of Telecom, Open Fiber's main rival, the company managed by Tommaso Pompei was the most awaited winner of the tender.
The agreement was signed by the two CEOs, Tommaso Pompei for Open Fiber and Domenico Tudini for Infratel Itali, in the presence of the president of Infratel Italia Maurizio Dècina.
Last May, Open Fiber was also awarded the first tender for the construction of the ultra-fast public network, for a total amount of 1,4 billion euros. The network was licensed for 20 years and will remain in public ownership.
The first tender involved awarding the concession for the "construction and management" of the passive ultra-broadband infrastructure in the white areas of the territory of the Abruzzo and Molise, Emilia Romagna, Lombardy, Tuscany and Veneto regions.
"The results of the tender were better than expected, both from a technical and economic point of view, with significant savings in the presence of a capillary diffusion of the fiber throughout the territory" commented the managing director of Infratel, Domenico Tudini.
"To reduce the digital divide and gain competitive advantages, Italy needs an ultra-broadband infrastructure throughout the country, including small towns and less populous areas" commented the CEO of Open Fiber Tommaso Pompei.
“With the granting of the second call for tenders, Open Fiber continues to build a future-proof fiber optic network, which can guarantee citizens, companies and the Public Administration a fast and secure connection, giving a strong boost
to employment".
The second tender will involve 3.700 municipalities, with around 4,7 million real estate units to cover and over 6,8 million citizens interested. The offer proposed by Open Fiber, which won the tender, envisages that around 3,5 million real estate units will be covered with FTTH (fiber to the home) technology, while the remainder will be covered with fixed wireless radio technology.
The total coverage achieved will be over 99% of the real estate units in the white areas put out for tender in the 16 regions. Once the first two tenders have been awarded, the "White Areas" Ultra-Broadband plan will conclude with the third tender to be launched by the end of the year, to cover the remaining white areas of Calabria, Puglia and Sardinia.
