The investment will allow to increase the capacity of the broadband network and enhance the spread of innovative services
Invitalia, Telecom Italia and Italtel have signed a development contract for an overall value of over € 61 million for the diffusion of broadband network and to support the use of innovative services in Sicily.
The investment of Telecom Italia amounted to more than € 41 million and provides for the increase of the capacity of the fixed and mobile broadband network on the Sicilian territory, through the extension of fiber optic in the network infrastructure in replacement of copper, with the aim of boosting innovative services. The project will also be useful for the subsequent development of the next generation ultra-broadband network.
The intervention of Italtel is € 20 million, of which € 18 million to build a platform with high software content to deliver video, voice and Internet through next generation networks, and € 2 million to diversify the production of the industrial plant in Carini (near Palermo), thus creating the infrastructure for the operation of a software factory and an engineering center for the production of high software content products.
The plan presented by Telecom Italia and Italtel is financed by Invitalia with € 18 million of plant grants.
Domenico Arcuri, CEO of Invitalia, declared: “This agreement brings a robust injection of technology in all of Sicily and allows to create, through a next generation network, a potential instrument for the growth of companies, institutions and citizens. The development contract, managed by our Agency and financed by the Ministry of Economic Development, confirms its effectiveness thanks to the simplified procedures and to a process time which is finally compatible with the needs of the territories.”
Roberto Opilio, Director of Technology, Telecom Italia, said: “This initiative is the confirmation that the public-private partnership and synergies between industrial groups are crucial to support the weaker areas of our country, especially in a difficult phase like the one we are going through. The realization of technologically advanced telecommunication infrastructures is, in fact, an important factor for the growth of competitiveness and for territorial development.”
Stefano Pileri, CEO, Italtel, said: “The plan included in this development contract is a significant step forward in the process of digitization and spread of innovative services that our country has to make, particularly in the southern regions. For Italtel the participation in this project is doubly important. On the one hand, it provides an ideal opportunity for our research center of Palermo; on the other hand, it allows us to convey our technological expertise and the ability of R&D of innovative products and services within next generation networks using video, voice and data.”
This is the fourth Development Contract signed in 2013. The first three were all signed in Campania region and activated investments of more than € 100 million.
