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Cube invests in ClioFiber

December 6, 2022

Cube Infrastructure Managers’ Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF) has announced its investment in a wholesale fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) / fibre-to-the-office (FTTO) project operated by ClioFiber in Italy. The first phase of this project represents an investment plan of circa €50 million.

ClioFiber marks a major milestone in CEBF’s history as the fund’s tenth investment since its launch. CEBF is the first investment platform supporting broadband and digital infrastructure investments from both private and public investors under the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), and was created to implement the European Commission’s Gigabit Society targets. In line with its investment strategy, CEBF’s investments aim to respond to the growing demand for financing greenfield projects across Europe. To date, CEBF has committed close to €250 million in FTTH infrastructure projects that target to connect more than 1.7 million homes and businesses.

The project, CEBF’s second investment in Italy, is expected to become one of the most important FTTH infrastructure projects in Southern Italy and will allow the deployment of state-of-the-art FTTH infrastructure to connect rural and semi-rural communities, in line with CEBF’s mission to enhance connectivity for households and businesses across Europe.

ClioFiber plans to cover c. 20+ municipalities with its transmission infrastructure, and provide full fibre broadband to 130,000 premises within two years, creating new job opportunities in the region. In addition to its partnership with ClioCom (together with its affiliate FibraSalento), an established local ISP, ClioFiber has a top-tier management team including CEO Moreno Grassi (former COO at Metroweb and Wholesale Director at Irideos) and Senior Technical Adviser Stefano Paggi (former COO at OpenFiber and Head of Open Access at TIM), among others.

The European Commission, one of CEBF’s anchor investors, commented: “This CEBF’s tenth investment also represents a great achievement for the European Commission, setting an important milestone in the achievement of EU connectivity objectives. Launched in 2018, the Fund has already contributed significantly to the development of broadband network infrastructures. Indeed, the Fund has invested in the roll-out of FTTH to 1.7 million premises in the Union and it is expected to invest in the roll out of many more. Subscribing to the most junior and riskier share class of the layered investment fund, the European Commission has successfully stimulated private capital investments (which represent 30 per cent of the fund) in the deployment of gigabit networks in rural and lower density areas, and created new dynamics in the sector.”

Izzet Güney, Partner of Cube Infrastructure Managers, commented: “We are pleased to announce this new investment which will allow the deployment of new fibre networks connecting less populated areas across the Apulia region in Italy. With this transaction, CEBF is pursuing its investment programme in a dynamic environment while continuing to push for an acceleration of fibre deployment at the European level. The Fund is supplying vital communications infrastructure that has the potential to benefit a large number of homes and businesses, especially considering the ongoing technological advancements. This is CEBF’s second investment in Italy, and tenth overall, which underlines our commitment to advancing connectivity for people and businesses across Europe.”

Moreno Grassi, CEO of ClioFiber, commented: “We are committed to growing our network and meeting the need for fast and reliable full fibre internet connections, especially in underserved rural areas. Securing this level of funding from CEBF not only underpins our ambitious growth plans but is also a vote of confidence in ClioFiber as a business and the product we offer. This new initiative will bring meaningful opportunities to many communities, reducing the current digital gap, in line with European expectations, and helps create the appropriate ecosystem for the evolution of more innovative technology and services.“

Clara Quarta, CEO of FibraSalento, and of ClioCom since 1995, added: “We take on this new challenge to continue delivering first-class digital services in our territory, which we’ve continually done through ClioCom’s presence in the market for more than 25 years now, services which have always been characterized by the highest quality and putting the customer first. This ClioFiber partnership and the expansion of our company will be our strength and will continue to open avenues for future prospects.”

Categories: Articles, Broadband, Business, FTTH, Funding

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