The two players have launched their own development plan for a national next-gen network in a deal which should enable them to optimise costs and investments in infrastructure construction.
Both network platforms will follow a common fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) roll-out with the aim of helping Italy to meet European Agenda goals for ultra-fast broadband.
However, Telecom Italia and Fastweb will still retain autonomy in the development of their own network platforms, technology decisions and commercial offerings.
"The partnership with Fastweb on FTTC further confirms the validity of the company's technological and architectural decisions, also as regards respect for our competitors and relations with other operators. Telecom Italia intends to reach 100 cities with ultra-broadband by 2014," said Marco Patuano, COO at Telecom Italia.
The memorandum of understanding will also be open to other operators with a desire to co invest in FTTC infrastructure and platforms.
The agreement rests on the outcome of FTTC architecture trials in the city of Pisa, which will be used to identify the most cost efficient approach to the agreement and involve the joint exploration of VDSL technologies.
Swisscom, the parent company of Fastweb, recently announced that it had granted approval for the first phase of a €400 million fibre roll-out in Italy, to expand the operator’s infrastructure and increase competitiveness.
