Italy begins rural broadband tender

The Italian government’s Infratel unit has kicked of the first part of its EUR3.65 billion (USD4.2 billion) tender to find firms to deploy broadband infrastructure in rural areas of the country. The Italia 1 Giga project aims to improve connectivity for 6.9 million Italians, as well as in buildings such as schools and health facilities. Bids are being invited for the 15 regional tenders until 16 March, with funding coming from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Network deployment must be completed by end-June 2026.