ROME: Telecom Italia SpA will invest in faster broadband as part of a 14.5 billion-euro ($16.4 billion) spending plan to help Chief Executive Officer Marco Patuano return to earnings growth in Italy by 2017.
In the three years through 2017, Telecom Italia will spend about 3 billion euros on optic fiber for broadband in its home market, where it generates about 70 percent of revenue, the carrier said today in London. That’s an increase of more than 1 billion euros from the previous program and will extend the reach of fiber to 75 percent of the population.
“By 2017 this acceleration of investment in optic fiber is expected to increase the number of active customers by approximately 1 million compared to the targets of the previous plan,” Italy’s largest phone carrier said in a statement.
In Italy, Patuano is adding services in a bid to boost phone bills in a saturated market. Telecom Italia is discussing a partnership to start offering Netflix Inc.’s online video service in the country, he said in an interview at the London event.
