Bout and response to poison between Tim e Open Fiber on single telecommunications network in view of the board of directors of Tim of 31 August in which the decision on the proposal of the fund should arrive Kkr on the secondary network of Tim, willing to take over a share of around 40%. Project “frozen” following the intervention of the government during the last Board of Directors of the Company to seek an alternative solution. Today in an interview with Repubblica the CEO of Tim Luigi Gubitosi he stated that the operator “will give the ultra-broadband to all of Italy, with Open Fiber or without. And it will keep the majority of a single company in the network, which is logical. We are the natural candidate to create an infrastructure that meets the country’s digitization needs, even stronger after the blockade linked to the emergency of the Covid-19“. Hard the attack launched by Gubitosis to the fiber company led by Elisabbetta Ripa, “Three years late – says the CEO of Tim – in its investment programs “. A position that aroused the reaction in a note from the fiber company: “We meet yet another interview with the CEO of Tim all focused on speaking (badly) of another company (Open Fiber) – reads the press release – At the same time, Dr. Gubitosis he attributes delays and inefficiencies of his company to previous managements, of which however he does not want to talk (and here – strangely – a British fair play re-emerges). We get the suspicion – certainly unfounded – that Open Fiber is an excellent opportunity not to touch on uncomfortable issues at home, which perhaps deserve greater analytical and in-depth attention. Open Fiber is not responsible for its results and its accounts to the doctor Gubitosis – concludes the note – but to its shareholders and the pool of 14 primary banks that finance it ”. To put an end, at least for now, to the tug-of-war between the two companies is the Minister of Economic Development Stefano Patuanelli, who questioned by the press on the interview with the CEO of Tim he said: “The only network is the State”.
In the interview Gubitosis he also talked about the next steps that await Tim, starting with the Board of Directors which “will decide on the creation of FiberCop, that is the company of the secondary network, and on the entry into that company of Fastweb and Kkr. Then we will evaluate whether we have reached a convergence on how this operation can flow into the broader design of a single network. I hope we can reach it by August 31st. But in any case we will always be available, under the right conditions, to find an agreement even afterwards ”.
As for the single network, “it would allow the development of a more efficient infrastructure capable of responding quickly to Italy’s growing digitalization needs – underlines Gubitosi – and would offer important savings and synergies. But in thinking about the single network, we must consider that the TIM network is among the best in Europe, by the end of the year we will have connected 75% of the population of the white areas, that is, those still without broadband, and 90% of the Italian population. This will allow a significant reduction of the digital divide and to no longer have Serie A and Serie B citizens in the ultra-broadband. Tim has shown that he respects his commitments ”.
The difference in size “between Tim and Open Fiber is a fact, so there is no hypothesis that Tim falls below 50.1%”, continues Tim’s CEO, who underlines how “it would not make sense” to be in majority in the share capital but in a minority on the board of directors: “We can instead think of governance corrections, such as qualified majorities for some decisions,” he adds. “We have no interest in selling the network – he concludes – which is the heart of any ‘incumbent’, and transforming it into a mere financial participation”.
Meanwhile, the concern of the trade unions emerges with respect to the tones and ways in which the debate on the single network is developing: “We do not like the climate that is being experienced on the issue – he says Except Ugliarolo, general secretary of the Uilcom Uil – We have already expressed together with the leaders of CGIL, CISL, UIL, our position on an important topic for the whole country. Italy is unfortunately experiencing one of the most difficult crises in recent decades, we need to implement real industrial policies, which also involve connecting the country with a modern and effective network. We must put an end to a waste of resources with the creation of a double network and start the unification of Open Fiber with Tim “.
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