FastWeb wants to be number two

The CEO of Italian broadband telecoms services provider FastWeb says he is planning to invest EUR3 billion to elevate his company to the position of Italy’s second fixed line operator, according to Telecompaper. Stefano Parisi says EUR2 billion has been invested so far and the telco’s 16,000km network now reaches more than five million families, a number he wants to double by the end of 2006. FastWeb is a wholly owned unit of e.Biscom. It offers voice telephony, video and internet access services over a fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in some parts of the country, and over DSL lines rented from the incumbent where FTTP is not available.