Italy’s infrastructure company, Infratel, has introduced the completion of a venture to deliver high-speed broadband infrastructure to 21 of the nation’s small island communities. With this achievement, Italy has reached a big milestone by finishing the “Minor Islands Connection” Plan, connecting its smaller islands to a fiber-optic community. The EUR 45 million venture, financed by way of PNRR funds, was carried out by Infratel Italia SpA and executed by Orange’s subsidiary, Elettra Tlc SpA.
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Modernising Outdated Island Infrastructure
First introduced in 2021, the tender to attach the islands was awarded to Elettra Tlc SpA in 2022, and set up started in 2023. Elettra Tlc SpA was chosen by Infratel Italia to produce and set up optical submarine cable hyperlinks, offering ultra-high-speed connectivity to 21 Italian islands. The venture consists of 21 hyperlinks, comprising a complete of 860 kilometers of subsea cables, in accordance with Elettra.
The initiative focuses on islands with outdated infrastructure, corresponding to radio bridges and out of date cables, equipping them with trendy digital companies, together with ultra-wideband connectivity and 5G. Areas benefiting from the venture embrace Lazio, Puglia, Sicily, Tuscany, and Sardinia.
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21 Islands Related
The financing covers 21 islands, together with Capraia, Levanzo, Marettimo, Vulcano, Lipari, Salina, Filicudi, Alicudi, Panarea, Stromboli, Pantelleria, Linosa, Lampedusa, Ustica, Ponza, Ventotene, Santo Stefano, San Pietro, Asinara, San Nicola, and San Domino. These islands now have entry to superior digital companies for residents, companies, and public administrations. The finished land and marine works mark the ultimate stage of the venture, with administrative consolidation anticipated by the top of 2024, the official launch stated.
Authorities Dedication
The Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council hailed the plan as an important step towards digital transformation, emphasising its function in making the islands aggressive and sustainable whereas preserving their cultural and pure magnificence.
“The smaller islands, with their extraordinary magnificence and invaluable cultural and pure worth, should turn out to be a virtuous instance of how custom and innovation can coexist, reinforcing one another. By offering them with cutting-edge infrastructures, we make them not solely extra aggressive and enticing but in addition lively protagonists within the financial and technological relaunch of the nation,” the official launch acknowledged.
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Financial and Social Revitalisation
The CEO of Elettra Tlc SpA expressed satisfaction within the venture’s completion, stating: We’re very proud to have accomplished all sections—each sea and land—of the ‘Minor Islands Connection’ Plan in early November 2024. This achievement permits us to make a big contribution to strengthening the financial system of 21 Italian islands whereas concurrently bettering the lives of their inhabitants.
