en.Wedoany.com Reported - FiberCop has successfully won the tender for Italy's National Connectivity Fund (Fondo Nazionale per la Connettività, FNC) project, funded by the Digital Transformation Department of the Italian Prime Minister's Office, aimed at promoting the development of the national ultra-broadband network.
In this competitive procedure, FiberCop was the sole bidder. The winning bid covers over 477,000 addresses, equivalent to approximately 700,000 housing units, spanning seven geographical regions across the country.
The National Connectivity Fund is one of the initiatives related to Italy's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), designed to bridge the digital divide through incentives and support the construction of fixed networks with download speeds of at least 1 Gbit/s and upload speeds of 200 Mbit/s. Public subsidies can cover up to 70% of capital expenditure.
Invitalia, the Italian Investment Development Agency, serves as the implementing body for the plan, acting as an execution partner under an agreement signed with the Digital Transformation Department. According to a statement released by FiberCop, the total investment for the plan is expected not to exceed €300 million (net of expected subsidies).
Network deployment is expected to begin in the second half of 2026, with an intensive phase between 2027 and 2029, and all activities to be completed by June 2030. Public subsidies will be disbursed gradually as the project progresses, with the first advance payment expected within 2026. FiberCop emphasized that this new coverage activity is already included in the company's previously announced strategy to complete the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) plan in Italy's 1 Giga plan coverage areas (by mid-2026 at the latest) and autonomous regions (by the end of 2027 at the latest). From a financial perspective, the company believes that this bid win can improve long-term structural indicators through expanded infrastructure coverage and expected subsidies, but will not significantly alter short-term net investment guidance, expected leverage ratios, or financial policies.
The Digital Transformation Department of the Italian Prime Minister's Office subsequently released a statement regarding the National Connectivity Fund. The department recalled that Invitalia's board of directors approved the allocation of National Connectivity Fund subsidies to FiberCop on June 25, 2026, with a maximum amount of €712.5 million. The published documents list the geographical distribution of the 477,521 addresses involved in the project, divided into seven regions: Region 1 (Northern Tuscany) with 78,858 addresses; Region 2 (Southern Tuscany) with 52,713 addresses; Region 3 (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Veneto) with 71,069 addresses; Region 4 (Emilia-Romagna, Marche, and Umbria) with 72,033 addresses; Region 5 (Abruzzo, Lazio, Molise, and Sardinia) with 53,526 addresses; Region 6 (Piedmont, Aosta Valley, Liguria, and Lombardy) with 57,401 addresses; and Region 7 (Basilicata, Campania, Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily) with 91,921 addresses. The total number of addresses reaches 477,521, consistent with the data previously announced by FiberCop. According to the official statement, the plan falls under PNRR Mission 1, Component 2, Investment 7, and is implemented in accordance with the ECOFIN Council decision of November 27, 2025, and the implementation agreement signed between the Digital Transformation Department and Invitalia on February 4, 2026. The department also confirmed that FiberCop's submitted bid plan aims to build the network infrastructure by 2030, ensuring coverage of over 477,000 addresses across seven geographical regions nationwide.
