Advanced Television

Italy passes 0.5m fibre in H1

August 22, 2014

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Italy exceeded 500,000 optical fibre subscribers (FTTH and FTTC) at the end of June 2014, representing nearly a 50 per cent growth on the end of 2013, based on data published by the operators.

In its half-yearly results, Fastweb says it had 110,000 subscribers on the new FTTC networks, in addition to the 300,000 on the existing FTTC network. Overall, some 4.2 million homes and businesses are served by Fastweb’s optical fibre network, in 25 cities (including Milan, Naples, Rome, Palermo and Venice).

Telecom Italia, according to CEO Marco Patuano, has 100,000 fibre optic users, covering 70 cities, in addition to a FTTH network in Milan. The operator plans to reach 600 cities by 2016, covering 12.4 million homes, representing more than 50 per cent of the population. The operator is investing €1.8 billion in the project during the period 2014-2016.

Vodafone Italia is using Telecom Italia’s FTTC network for its offering, as well as Metroweb’s FTTH network in Milan (also used by Wind). The operator is planning to reach 150 cities and 7 million inhabitants with its own FTTC network by 2017.

For its part, Metroweb is expanding its FTTH network both in Milan, but also in Genoa and Bologna. The company is planning to invest €4.5 billion to bring Next Generation Networks (NGN) to 30 Italian cities.

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Equipment, Research