The second phase of the scheme will focus on encouraging take-up among SMEs, after an only partially successful first phase for households
Time to get Italian SMEs connected: The European Commission has given Italy a helping hand in addressing the long-standing issue of broadband adoption among SMEs. According to the EC’s latest Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), in 2019 less than 37% of SMEs had a broadband connection of at least 30Mbps – only Slovakia, Greece, and France fared worse. This week, the EC cleared the second phase of Italy’s broadband voucher scheme, which earmarks €610m and will help 450,000 SMEs subscribe to connections with speeds between 30Mbps and 1Gbps. The plan will focus on areas of the country where suitable infrastructure is available but currently under utilised.
How will the scheme work? Vouchers will vary depending on the connection taken, with several tiers of funding depending on the speed. SMEs taking 30Mbps packages will be able to claim €300, which will go up to €2,500 for those taking 1Gbps connections. The funds will cover installation costs and monthly fees for a maximum period of 24 months. To qualify for the voucher, a business must subscribe to the service with the highest performance available at their premises.
The first phase was only a partial success: Phase 1 of the scheme ended in November, and was designed to help low-income households adopt broadband connections and the devices to use them, with vouchers worth up to €500. It was only a partial success. More than 200k vouchers were distributed, utilising only about 53% of the funds available. €93.7m out of €200m was not spent. The scheme was subject to criticism from several stakeholders. The obligation to take a device in order to benefit from the voucher was widely considered as a limitation. Alternative operators noted that TIM ended up taking most of the subscriptions. The competition authority, the AGCM, criticised the inclusion of a speed as low as 30Mbps, noting that it could discourage investment in faster technologies. It also raised competition concerns since consumers had to choose the ‘most performing’ offer – which could favour the operator with the most performing infrastructure even where different operators can offer similar speeds with different technologies. The Government is expected to launch a new voucher scheme for households in the coming months, although its terms are not yet clear. Lessons haven’t been learnt quickly enough to affect the SME scheme, but perhaps they could be for the next phase involving households.
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_6892
