Completion of fiber-optic work in 145 municipalities in Como, 27,9 mln €

Context

TL;DR

• Network nearing completion in 145 municipalities in the province of Como
• More than 27,9 million in public funds for Como
• Ultra-broadband take-up: 23% versus 17%
• Italia 1 Giga Plan completed in 50 municipalities

Key facts

• Projects → «Bul Announcement – Ultra Broadband» and «Italy 1 Giga Plan»
• Province of Como → over 27.9 million in public resources
• Regional contribution → 7.4 million euros
• Bul Plan → 145 municipalities and just over 144,000 real estate units
• Italy 1 Giga Plan → 50 municipalities and over 12,700 civics
• Adherence → 23% compared to 17% of the national average
• White areas in Lombardy → 1,429 Municipalities and 261 million in public funds
• Technology → FTTH, fiber to the home

Provincial works and network nearing completion

The picture communicated to Como

The meeting held in Como marked the completion of the laying of optical fiber in the entire province. The interventions are part of the public projects «Bando Bul – Ultra Broadband» and «Piano Italia 1 Giga». Franco Lucente, Councilor for Transport and Sustainable Mobility of the Lombardy Region, spoke via video link.

The passage across the 145 municipalities requires precision: the source indicates that Open Fiber is completing the ultra-broadband network envisaged by the Bul Plan. It is therefore not described as already completed in all the municipalities involved. The connected real estate units are just over 144,000 and for these it is possible to request the activation of the service.

The status indicated for the Italy 1 Giga Plan is different. Open Fiber has completed interventions in 50 municipalities in Como; There are over 12,700 civic addresses where it is possible to request activation. The program concerns gray areas, while the Bul Plan affects white areas, i.e. rural and peripheral areas where there is no private interest in investing.

The meeting served to share the results, illustrate the opportunities for the municipalities involved and collect observations and critical issues from local administrators. Lucente indicated that ultra-broadband supports the economic and social growth of the province, especially in areas not covered by private investments. In the Como area, the level of participation in ultra-broadband services is 23%, compared to a national average of 17%.

The interventions in the white areas involved 1,429 Lombardy municipalities, with 261 million in public funds, of which 70 million regional. In the province of Como, public resources exceed 27.9 million euros, with a contribution from the Lombardy Region amounting to 7.4 million. Massimiliano Vari, Marco Luttati, Daniele Mariuzzo and Sergio Galli also participated in the meeting.

Operational details

The difference between white areas and gray areas

Two programs not to be confused

The Bul Plan and the Italia 1 Giga Plan address two different infrastructure situations. White areas are rural and peripheral zones in which there is no private interest in investing. Gray areas, on the other hand, are those where the private operator has no interest in using its own funds to enhance connectivity up to 1 Gbps. In both cases, the intervention is public, but the scope does not coincide.

The source therefore uses two different indicators: real estate units for the Bul Plan and addresses for the Italia 1 Giga Plan. It does not provide the list of municipalities or addresses. For this reason, it is not possible to determine from the press release alone whether an individual home or a specific business is already covered by the service. The operational information provided is that, in the cases indicated, activation can be requested.

For a cross-border worker who lives in the province of Como and works in Canton Ticino, the documented connection remains digital and conditional on the address being among those covered. Open Fiber describes an FTTH network capable of offering an ultrafast and reliable connection to citizens, professionals and companies, with applications ranging from smart working to cloud solutions, through to artificial intelligence and telemedicine.

The source does not, however, document changes concerning the G permit, AVS, LPP, LAMal, tax rebates, withholding tax, INPS or double taxation. It does not attribute any effects on border crossings, routes or cross-border work rules to the new infrastructure. The 23% provincial and 17% national take-up rates are the levels reported for ultra-broadband services; the text does not link them to cross-border workers. At the regional level, the Italia 1 Giga Plan involved 596 municipalities in Lombardy, with Pnrr investments amounting to 161,4 million euros.

Key points

How to read the data and request activation

A practical sequence based on the source

The press release does not indicate forms, documents, portals, fees or timelines for the request. It is therefore possible to define only a verification sequence based on the available data, without adding procedures not described.

1. Start with the municipality and address. The news concerns the province of Como, but distinguishes between 145 municipalities in the Piano Bul and 50 municipalities in the Piano Italia 1 Giga. The first check is to understand which area the location concerned belongs to.

2. Identify the program. If it is a rural or peripheral area with no private interest in investing, the reference is the Piano Bul. If the area is gray and concerns the enhancement of connectivity up to 1 Gbps, the reference is the Piano Italia 1 Giga.

3. Use the correct indicator. For the Piano Bul, the source speaks of just over 144.000 connected real-estate units. For the Piano Italia 1 Giga, it indicates more than 12.700 addresses. The two numbers do not describe the same unit of measurement.

4. Check the status of the intervention. In the 145 municipalities of the Piano Bul, the network is still being completed. In the 50 municipalities in Como under the Piano Italia 1 Giga, the interventions appear to be finished. For the real-estate units and addresses indicated by the source, it is possible to request service activation.

5. Link the request to the intended use. The FTTH network is presented as a basis for smart working, cloud, artificial intelligence and telemedicine. A cross-border commuter can read this data only as information about the connectivity available at their home or business, if it falls within the indicated area.

The 23% uptake figure does not replace verification of the individual address. Likewise, the announcement of the completion of provincial works does not authorize one to consider the Piano Bul network already completed in all 145 municipalities. The source makes it possible to distinguish the status of the works, the program and the possibility of activation; it does not offer any further operational details.

Source: comozero.it