Italy kicks off EUR400m school fibre project

The Italian government has launched a EUR400 million (USD434 million) fund to provide fibre connectivity to schools across the country. According to a report from MondoMobileWeb, the Ministry of Economic Development (Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico, MiSE) is looking to equip over 32,000 buildings – or more than 81% of schools – with fibre access which guarantees download speeds of 100Mbps, and up to 1Gbps within the next two years. Vouchers worth up to EUR500 will also be made available to qualifying low-income families to install broadband connections and acquire IT equipment for children. The first activations on the new school network are expected from September this year.