All government plans on Tim and Network
Undersecretary Butti is succinct on the objectives of the Pnrr for the TLCs: "The previous government leaves us with an embarrassing situation to say the least". And it also attacks OpenFiber on White Areas. There is no ad Rossetti: the group is working to catch up. Meanwhile, on the front of the single network, Minister Urso confirms a firm point "it will be under public control"
The Meloni government attacks its predecessor Draghi on TLC and broadband.
“The situation we inherit is much more critical than what formally emerged. Respecting the objectives of the Pnrr for telecommunications will be complicated and very demanding”, warned yesterday the undersecretary of the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for Innovation, Alessio Butti from the Asstel Telecommunications Forum.
The comments come when the options on how to combine Tim's fixed network with that of rival Open Fiber to create a single broadband network are on the table of the Fratelli d'Italia executive. "November 30 is the deadline for the presentation of the non-binding proposal from Cassa Depositi to the telephone group to buy the infrastructure and integrate it with Open Fiber" recalls the Corriere .
"We need the network to be under public control", declared the Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso yesterday in his speech at the Asstel Forum, defining the privatization of the former Italian telephone monopoly in the 1997.
One possibility is the so-called Minerva project, developed by Fratelli d'Italia, which would involve a takeover bid on Tim by CDP, which controls Open Fiber and is a shareholder of Tim.
An alternative plan, championed by Tim's chief executive Pietro Labriola, is a spin-off of his network and later a merger with Open Fiber via a memorandum of understanding with CDP.
"The government's strategy is to have a state network", and it will decide "with one voice" how to achieve this goal, Urso reiterated to the Forum, as reported by Reuters . However, it should not be forgotten that last week, the owner of the Treasury (who controls Cdp) Giancarlo Giorgetti (Lega) urged caution on the Minerva plan. The discussion within the government (and key departments) is open.
All the details.
THE STOCCATE OF UNDERSECRETARY BUTTI
Alarm for the Tlc sector and on the achievement of the objectives of the Pnrr between 5G and broadband, launched by Undersecretary Butti in his speech at the Asstel Telecommunications Forum.
For the 1 Giga Italy Plan, "the objective stated in the Pnrr by former minister Vittorio Colao was sadly declared wrong," Butti ruled. “Even for the Italy 5G Plan, the previous government leaves us with an embarrassing situation to say the least”. And with "major delays," "Plan Bul [Ultra-Broadband Plan] isn't in better shape." More generally on the Italian telecommunications industry, the undersecretary speaks of a "very difficult situation" and explains: "The Meloni government wants Italy to return to being the protagonist and to have an important role, also in the future in the Mediterranean": it is necessary “a new and more ambitious strategy” that “above all helps Italian companies to return to growth”.
THE CRITICISM OF OPEN FIBER
In particular, "Il Piano Bul" is in difficulty "if you look, once again, at the timing of its implementation", highlighted Butti. "Frankly, it seems unlikely that Open Fiber – he underlined – is able to carry out the works in the gray areas within the timescales envisaged by the Pnrr, if it has not even been able to carry out those in the white areas, thus accumulating enormous delays, delays which are even grown in the last year”.
To meet the deadlines, Open Fiber "must therefore make another 4,322,994 real estate units available for activation between now and June 2023, which is equivalent to a monthly average of around 540,000 constructions against an average of around 46,000 units per month in the last 6 months. Finally, the fact is distressing that, reading the available Mise Report, that of 31 October 2022, we learn that services in the white areas have been 'activated' only for 104,651 real estate units ".
THE REPLICA OF ROSSETTI (CEO OF OPEN FIBER)
But, as Corriere points out, the CEO of Open Fiber, Mario Rossetti, is not about to pass for a latecomer: “We have 2.1 million units tested, 2.6 million already available for sale. Overall in the white areas, Open Fiber has already completed civil works in over 4 million real estate units in FTTH out of 6.4 million".
And from the Asstel Forum, Rossetti expresses the wish to "soon meet the Government in all its components to show the progress" of the works.
THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF A TABLE WITH THE TELCO CEOS
A wish already satisfied by Undersecretary Butti who announced: "I intend to convene a table with the CEOs of the main Italian operators as soon as possible". To "change pace" you need "a new vision for the sector and a different way of working", highlighted Butti.
URSO: PUBLIC CONTROL OF THE UNICA NETWORK
In the meantime, for the Italian telecommunications sector, it remains a priority to untie the nodes of the single network project.
The Tim-single network theme "is articulated" and involves "creating the conditions that make it possible to safeguard an asset, but not to give up on a prime principle that inspires good politics: leaving no one behind". This was stated by the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, in an interview with Il Messaggero . For the minister "The network is a public good and therefore must be under public control".
And with regard to the Minerva project for a single publicly controlled telecommunications network, developed by the Brothers of Italy which envisages a possible takeover bid on Tim, Minister Urso explained to the Asstel Forum that "the tools to do so will have to be decided by the government and this is a government that acts together, in unison and we promise to do so after having done all the necessary reconnaissance”.
TIM'S POSITION
Also yesterday, the managing director of Tim, Pietro Labriola, also expressed his opinion on the single network project during the course of the Fourth Republic broadcast yesterday evening on Retequattro.
The single network is a way to deal with a large investment, guaranteeing a return. This is what Tim's number one claims, who underlined how "in the past we were able to support high investments for a single network such as the copper one and we were able to do them because Telecom operated under a monopoly regime".
“I cannot answer on behalf of the government but I can tell you what is happening within my area of responsibility: we have extended the MoU, now with the CDP we have a month to find the best solution. The 'non-exclusive' is not a question of having changed approach” explained Labriola last week , in a conference call with analysts after the publication of the quarterly, he said that Cassa Depositi e Prestiti still remains “the best choice in Italy for building the unique in the country in terms of industrial synergies,” Bloomberg reported.
Finally, Labriola reiterated yesterday, Tim is "an industrially sound company" which however must resolve "the debt problem" still linked to the old Olivetti takeover bid of 1999.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/tutti-i-piani-del-governo-su-tim-e-rete/ on Tue, 15 Nov 2022 11:34:43 +0000.