[wireless federation] Vodafone Group PLC is planning to invest more than US$1.3 billion in Italy in order to complete its coverage of the country for wireless broadband services.
According to Paolo Bertoluzzo, head of Vodafone’s Italian operations, the Mobile phone giant wants to reach in three to four years an estimated 12% of the population that still don’t have adequate Internet access. It aims to offer speeds of at least two Mbps using the mobile technology HSPA+. This population,of about seven million people, lives in remote or Rural Areas, adding that those living in about 1,800 towns don’t have broadband at all.
Italy falls back the rest of Europe in broadband diffusion, Vodafone and other operators have been debating with the government over how to help the country catch up, such as building a fiber-optic network.
According to Bertoluzzo, Vodafone’s latest project was separate from its plans to help build this network. The company confirms the commitment. Vodafone will continue to discuss the rules and follow this course (toward an eventual agreement to build a fiber-optic network).
Earlier this year, Vodafone joined other alternative operators to plan a fiber-optic network of their own.
According to Vodafone spokeswoman, the operator would announce a deal with China’s Huawei Technologies Co. to set up a research center in Milan. The deal will be announced when Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao meets the Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi.
With 30 million users, Vodafone is one of the biggest of the four mobile phone operators in the country.
Vodafone to invest US $1.3 billion in Italy network
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