The CEO of Telecom Italia (TIM) shareholder Vivendi has said that a single fixed broadband network in Italy is the ‘right step’. Arnaud de Puyfontaine said the country is now at a turning point, as TIM looks to spin off its fixed network assets and merge them with state-backed wholesale operator Open Fiber.
The combined entity would be controlled by Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), which owns stakes in both TIM and Open Fiber. TIM would then be free to concentrate on its retail businesses in Italy and Brazil.
According to a Reuters report, the Vivendi CEO said that his company ‘will create the right conditions and a favourable environment with both policymakers and shareholders to take things forward’. The situation has been complicated, however, by the recent collapse of the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi, which supported the single network plan.