Italian wholesale network operator Open Fiber has enlarged an existing agreement with multi-utility firm Optima Italia. In January this year Optima agreed to use Open Fiber’s gigabit-capable fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks in urban areas as part of its own service offering, which provides electricity, gas, fibre broadband, fixed telephony and mobile services on a single bill. Optima has now extended the arrangement to include the networks Open Fiber is deploying in rural areas under a series of government-subsidised contracts covering 7,635 communities which currently have little or no internet access. Open Fiber is co-owned by the Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) and utility group Enel.