The contested rule is the so-called last mile rule. That is, that amendment to the simplification decree passed by the Government which allows the management, by third parties, of the maintenance of the last mile of the Telecom Italia network. And what has unleashed the ire of the president of the telecommunications group, Franco Bernabè, who intervened in the Annual Report of the Supervisory Body and defined the provision "a real breach of the rule of law and a clear form of expropriation", as well as with "evident profiles of constitutional legitimacy" and "technical impracticality"
Harsh words from Telecom Italia's number one, against the measure primarily because in contrast with EU legislation which assigns these tasks to the Authority: “These are dirigiste interventions – argued Bernabè – which present evident profiles of constitutional legitimacy, since they directly affect, and without any reason in the public interest, on the right of the (private, it should be remembered) owner of the network to dispose of and enjoy one's own assets. In other words, these interventions represent a real breach of the rule of law, a clear form of expropriation”.
According to Bernabe' also these new proposals “would certainly not guarantee benefits for consumers and it would become nearly impossible to safeguard the constitutionally guaranteed right to secrecy of communications. Furthermore – concluded the Telecom president – the network quality levels envisaged by the universal service provider could not be guaranteed”.
In support of his arguments, Bernabé also provided some figures on the level of competition achieved in the country: "In the three-year period 2009-2011, in a telephone access market in contraction of more than 500 lines, alternative operators totaled around 2,2 million net acquisitions", he highlighted, explaining that this was possible "thanks to the activation of more than 2,1 million wholesale accesses provided by Telecom and only 60 new access lines created independently, equal to less than 3% of the total".
The share of alternatives in access has thus grown "in three years, by a good 10,5 percentage points, going from 23,1% at the end of 2008 to 33,6% at the end of 2011". The share of alternatives on broadband access also grew "by 7,5 percentage points, from 39,5 to 47%". In short, commented Bernabè, there is "no brake on the development of competition", on the contrary "Italy in unbundling ranks at the top of the EU".
