The operator is hoping to attract investors to share the cost of FTTH to underserved areas.
To speed up the roll out of FTTH through the new national entity FiberCop, TIM has published its co-investment offer for roll out of the secondary fibre access network.
This project will offer FTTH solutions to households and businesses in 1,610 municipalities across the country by 2025 which currently have poor (grey) or no (black) fixed internet connection.
Regulatory compliance
TIM has notified the Italian Communications Authority (AGCom) so that it can check the proposal’s compliance with the new European Electronic Communications Code.
TIM says its initiative is based on the open co-investment model envisaged by the new Code and is the first example of a nation-wide project of this kind in Europe.
The co-investment offer relates to around 75% of property units in the grey and black areas of the country and provides for the supply of wholesale access services to the FTTH network that can be used by operators with various technical solutions.
All welcome
The project is open to all market operators. The fibre network architecture is designed to foster efficiency and promote infrastructure competition between operators, while simplifying retail customer migration processes between different suppliers.
Interested operators will be able to join the co-investment programme for certain geographical areas, down to the level of individual municipalities. The aim is to appeal to a range of participants.
In line with the new EU Electronic Communications Code, the co-investment participation model is based on sharing the long-term risk of building the new FTTH network.
The degree of risk sharing will be determined, on a non-discriminatory basis, by each co-investor according to their characteristics and business choices.
Investors can also sign up to the project after 2021, in exchange for a fee as the initial investors will have accepted greater risks and commit their capital before the others, as established by the new Code.