Telecom Italia to roll out 100-Mbps FTTH network in Catania

NOVEMBER 2, 2010 -- Telecom Italia says that it is close to launching services on a fiber to the home (FTTH) network in Catania. Initial customers have access to trial 100-Mbps links this week.

The FTTH network roll out in Catania is part of Telecom Italia’s fiber investment plan. The carrier plans provide ultra-broadband connections in six Italian cities by the end of 2010 and 13 cities by the end of 2012, and achiee 50% population coverage (138 cities) by the end of 2018.

The Catania roll out will be followed by deployments in Milan and Rome. By the end of the year, Telecom Italia expects to begin fiber-optic network construction in Bari, Turin, and Venice as well.

By the end of 2011, Telecom Italia says it will have connected 34,000 properties to fiber in the Borgo and Ognina districts of Catania. This figure will rise to more than 46,000 properties by the end of 2012, the carrier asserts. Under the development plan, the main areas of the municipality will have fiber-optic links by the end of 2013, by which time the next-generation fiber-optic network will cover 63,000 properties, corresponding to around 150,000 citizens.

Marketing of the 100-Mbps services over the new fiber-optic network will start once trials have been completed, dependent on the industry regulatory authority’s approval of the company’s offering, Telecom Italia says.

Telecom Italia CEO Franco Bernabè stated, “Telecom Italia is keen to drive innovation across Italy. Local competitiveness is increasingly bound up with an ability to exist online, and to develop new ways of working and leveraging the new economy. Building ultra-broadband infrastructure and, above all, fostering the take-up of the services that this infrastructure enables, can become a significant driver of sustainable economic growth and enhance quality of life.”

The next-generation access network is being developed alongside the existing network, and will lead to a completely upgraded network designed for the optimal carriage of different types of traffic (data, video, voice, etc.) and their very different bandwidth requirements, says Telecom Italia.