The Antitrust strikes Gualtieri on 5G with Bai di Luciani (ex Tim), all the details
The Market Guarantor has sent a report to the Municipality of Rome regarding the call for tenders for the 5G plan launched by the Gualtieri council: having found "significant critical issues that not only compromise competitive dynamics but cast doubts on the actual feasibility of the project"
Stop by the Antitrust on Gualtieri's plan for 5G in Rome.
On March 16, the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, unveiled a 100 million euro project to install 5G infrastructure throughout the city by 2026. The Municipality of Rome has therefore launched a call for tenders, the result of a public-private partnership with the American company Bai Communications (led in Italy by Tim's ex manager, Luca Luciani).
At stake are investments of 97.7 million, of which 33.3 million to be paid by the Municipality, with a concession for 25 years with an estimated value of 505.7 million.
But the Competition and Market Authority sent a report inviting "Roma Capitale to put in place the corrective measures necessary to restore the correct competitive dynamics with respect to the implementation of the 5G Project", as reported by Agi and Il Sole 24 Ore .
At this point, the Capitoline body can decide to go ahead with the award, but exposing itself to the risk that the Authority may intervene later, adds the Confindustria newspaper.
At the same time, again in June, Il Sole 24 Ore reported that the tower company Cellnex and the telco operators, critical of the Rome City Council tender for 5G and wi-fi coverage, presented a series of appeals to the Lazio Regional Administrative Court on the tender which, for the moment, has not recognized the urgency and therefore has decided to go directly to the judgment on the merits in October.
All the details.
THE ROME 5G PROJECT
By 2026, all of Rome will be covered by a 5G network and high-density neutral Wi-Fi.
This is what the project of the Giunta Gualtieri foresees, which last March published the tender that will close in October for the implementation and diffusion of the 5G fiber. The project envisages a complete network for the whole city within the ring road capable of improving the life of the Romans through the management of traffic flows, with intelligent traffic lights; of commuters with public transport but also of the waste cycle by optimizing collection.
According to the timetable, the conclusion of the first part of the works is set for December 2024, when the Holy Door will open and the Jubilee will begin: by that date the 5G network will cover the entire line A of the underground, from the stations to the tunnels, and 50% of line B.
WHAT BAI COMMUNICATIONS ITALIA DOES
At the basis of the call for tenders, in this public-private partnership project, is the proposal by Bai Communications, controlled by the Canadian pension fund Cppib.
“Milan has been overturned by the Expo and has become a city capable of attracting capital from all over the world. Rome is an incredible place and second to none”, Luca Luciani, head of Bai Communications Italia, commented to Reuters on the occasion of the presentation of the Rome 5G project.
Il Sole 24 Ore also recalled that Bai in Italy is a competitor of Inwit and Cellnex and focuses on the use of small cells, i.e. small antennas rather than macros, is ready to invest 500 million in 5 years, starting with projects such as that of Rome Capital precisely.
BAI'S PLANS
“The business plan envisages 500 million euros over 5 years, but we would like to use this amount much sooner” explained Luciani in an interview with Sole 24 Ore in April. “In general, we have no investment constraints, our shareholder is the Canadian Pension Fund (CPPIB) which manages over $530 billion in assets. The problem is then how to remunerate the investments” underlined the Italian manager.
“The public-private partnership project that we announced in Rome is an example that will go into competition that we hope to win […]. Obviously private investments must be remunerated and the PPP formula that we have presented goes precisely in this direction” added Luciani to the Confindustria newspaper.
AT THE BASIS OF THE CALL FOR TENDER OF THE MUNICIPALITY
Therefore, since Bai's proposal is the starting point of the tender, the other players should at least conform to compete with the offer. In addition, Bai Communications has a "last call" right: the last word, highlights Il Sole 24 Ore .
THE CRITICAL ISSUES REPORTED BY THE ANTITRUST AUTHORITY ON THE 5G PLAN LAUNCHED BY GUALTIERI
And on the call for tender formulated by the Municipality of Rome, the report of the Authority chaired by Roberto Rustichelli arrived, viewed by the Confindustria newspaper, which revealed some critical issues.
First of all, "the creation of the 5G network entirely from scratch without taking into account the existing infrastructures". This, moreover, would not clarify the advantages of the transaction in the opinion of the Authority. Secondly, "participants are not required to own the rights to use frequencies" with the risk that "the construction of an infrastructure managed by a person other than the frequency holders does not guarantee the continuity of the service and its efficiency" . And finally, the Antitrust speaks of "other disincentives to participate in the tender for the MNOs", in particular linked to the absence of "clear and measurable connectivity objectives such as transmission capacity, latency, connection reliability and the type of binding of base stations". Hence the invitation to Rome "to implement the necessary corrective measures", summarizes the Sole 24 Ore.
THE POSITION OF ROME CAPITAL
However, the Campidoglio do not seem disturbed by the remarks raised by the Antitrust.
“With regard to press reports relating to alleged 'stops' by the Competition and Market Authority regarding the 5G project in Rome, the Campidoglio specifies that it has received a report pursuant to art. 21 of law 287/1990 about the methods of creating the network in question which does not in any way imply a slowdown or interruption of the process in progress“, explains the Gualtieri administration in a note. "In reiterating that this is a project born out of the need to equip the city with a modern technological infrastructure in step with the times, Roma Capitale specifies that it will not only provide all the clarifications requested, but will play an active part in promoting a dialogue with all operators in the sector for the best possible configuration of the network, which takes full advantage of the investments already made and, at the same time, directs the development of the project in the interest of both operators, citizens and the capital".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/gualtieri-5g-bai/ on Tue, 01 Aug 2023 08:23:04 +0000.