Investors behind Italy’s major broadband operators — including KKR and Macquarie Group — are in talks over a commercial agreement aimed at accelerating Italy’s high-speed fiber rollout without a full merger.
The discussions involve FiberCop and Open Fiber, both partly backed by the Italian state, as Rome shifts away from pushing an immediate merger and instead seeks coordinated infrastructure deployment to reduce duplication and expand coverage more efficiently.
Under the reported framework, FiberCop could lead fiber expansion in underserved “grey areas,” while Open Fiber would focus on publicly subsidized remote zones, with both companies sharing network access where appropriate.
The talks could ease prior tensions between Italy and KKR while helping close Italy’s broadband gap, as the country still trails broader European fiber adoption despite major infrastructure investment.
