Telecom Italia took out a loan of €350 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help fund enhancements to its existing 4G network and deployment of 5G, adding to its debt of over €24 billion.
In a statement, the operator explained the funding will be used to expand commercial 5G and LTE ultra-broadband services, including fixed wireless access offerings, throughout the country.
The loan covers a period of six years. Telecom Italia said its infrastructure investment plan aimed to deliver “faster, higher-capacity connections to extend the latest generation mobile phone network to virtually all Italian people and businesses”.
It added the funding would allow it to complete a goal relating to outdoor 4G superfast mobile connection coverage in 2019 and 2020, and would “lead to a substantial increase in the network’s capacity to cope with the huge growth in traffic at 5G speeds of up to 2Gb/s”.
Of Telecom Italia’s total planned investments, 30 per cent will be set aside for southern Italy.
In July the operator’s tower unit Inwit reportedly lined-up bank loans of €2.5 billion [1] to help advance the creation of a joint infrastructure business with Vodafone Italy. Telecom Italia CEO Luigi Gubitosi subsequently said the company could sell part of its stake [2] in the combined business, to tap growing interest in the sector from financiers.
The operator’s debt fell by €419 million [3] in Q3 and stood at €24.3 billion by end-September. Telecom Italia stated it was ahead of debt reduction targets despite what it described as a “complex competitive background”.
[1] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/telecom-italia-tower-business-secures-financing/[2] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/telecom-italia-to-sell-part-of-vodafone-tower-joint-unit/
[3] https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/telecom-italia-eyes-cloud-play-unveils-finance-jv/
