• Due to the slow progress of the Open Fiber fibre optic laying project, Fibercop will take over the role of Open Fiber and play a major part in the government-supported fibre optic expansion plan.
  • This move brings changes to Italy’s digital infrastructure planning. It flexibly addresses problems in the face of delays and impacts future competitive markets.

What happened: Fibercop will replace its rivals and become the dominant player in Italy’s Fiber-optic network project design.

FiberCop, supported by KKR, is gearing up to take over the lagging work of laying fibre optic networks in Italy, which launched in 2020. It has replaced its competitor, Open Fiber, as the new fibre broadband expansion plan operator. According to Reuters News, the Italian government emphasised that due to the impact of COVID-19, it needs to accelerate the expenditure of funds for the EU. While Open Fiber was significantly behind FiberCop in the data of building connections, it progressed slowly and failed to complete on time, delaying the plan. Under such circumstances, FiberCop stated that it could take over all the remaining fibre promotion projects and become a faster and more efficient alternative solution, enabling the Italian government to achieve the goals set by the European Commission. The replacement from Open Fiber to FiberCop mainly occurs in providing high-speed fibre services to remote areas and accelerating the achievement of the goal of achieving full fibre broadband coverage throughout Italy by 2026.

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Why it’s important

The replacement of leadership in expanding and constructing fibre-optic broadband in Italy will affect the country’s digital broadband coverage rate. As Italy requires faster and better deployment, a construction approach focusing more on profitability and efficiency is needed.

The support from KKR Investment Company for Fibercop indicates that funds and digital infrastructure projects are interconnected. KKR has always promoted project efficiency, operational methods, and rapid growth. Therefore, KKR’s investment in Fibercop may lead to quicker deployment of broadband networks or a potential combination of Open Fiber and its existing network infrastructure.

This transformation has also increased competition in the broadband market, making relevant industries focus more on the distribution of functions and the use of funds. The European Commission has always closely monitored the construction of fibre-optic broadband to ensure the efficient use of funds.

Currently, the most important priority is to address existing challenges, increase the number of Italian households with ultra-high-speed broadband connections, and improve network coverage and connectivity in rural and remote areas.