MILAN: Telecom Italia (TIM) has signed a commercial agreement with Open Fiber to provide the rival broadband network company with access to its infrastructure in order to accelerate the deployment of fiber in the most remote regions of Italy, the companies announced on Friday.
As part of the deal, Open Fiber will pay 200 million euros ($208 million) to use TIM’s network infrastructure in so-called hard-to-reach “white zones.”
The commercial tie-up comes at a time when TIM and Open Fiber’s main investor, state lender CDP – which also has a 10% stake in TIM – are in talks to reach a preliminary agreement to merge the infrastructure network of the former telephone monopoly with those of state-backed rival. ($1 = 0.9605 euros)
