Last Mile or Last Chance? Italy’s Final Push for Ultrabroadband Faces Familiar Hurdles

As Italy launches what could be its last major public investment in ultrabroadband, unresolved mapping gaps and daunting remote-area costs threaten to leave thousands disconnected well into the next decade.

On April 9, 2026, Invitalia fired the starting gun for what officials hope will be the final, definitive public intervention to bring ultrabroadband to every corner of Italy. With over €700 million on the table and a 2030 deadline, the new National Connectivity Fund tender is a high-stakes race - one that promises to bridge Italy’s digital divides but also exposes the chronic challenges haunting the country’s connectivity ambitions.

Fast Facts

€733.4 million total funding, with €712.5 million up for grabs across seven regions.
402,896 mandatory addresses to be connected, with up to 368,186 additional optional ones for extra credit.
Speeds required: at least 1 Gbit/s download and 200 Mbit/s upload during peak times.
Deadline: All works must be completed by June 30, 2030.
Public funds capped at 70% of eligible costs - at least 30% is up to the winning bidder.

Mapping the Blind Spots

The plan echoes the earlier “1Giga Plan,” but the devil is in the details - and the data. Italy’s chronic problem is the “civico perduto” - the missing or unmapped addresses. Despite years of mapping efforts, over a million addresses remain in limbo, especially in remote, hard-to-reach areas. The new tender targets a pool of just under 1.7 million addresses, but only about 800,000 are actually set to be connected under this round. That leaves a silent majority - remote, sparsely populated, and often far from existing fiber - still outside the digital perimeter.

Technical excellence, not bargain-basement pricing, is the new mantra. Bids are scored solely on technical merit: the robustness of the network plan, the number of addresses connected beyond the mandatory minimum, and organizational strength. The economic offer is merely a pass/fail test of financial viability. The goal: reward those willing to go the extra mile - literally - into Italy’s digital hinterlands.

Wireless Scrutiny, Fiber Rigor

The rules are stricter than ever. Wireless solutions (Fixed Wireless Access) must meet tough technical standards and provide exhaustive site details - right down to the coordinates and radio frequencies. Even unactivated addresses must be “virtually” covered. For fiber, the focus is on scalability and immediate activatability, with every building getting a properly dimensioned access point and no new digging required at switch-on.

Public sector buildings must get dedicated, point-to-point fiber. And the process of “walk-in” - on-site address verification - is now an integral, not optional, part of the job.

2030: The Finish Line - or Just Another Checkpoint?

Optimists once hoped Italy would achieve universal ultrabroadband by 2026. That dream has slipped, with 2030 now the new horizon. Yet even as this round of funding aims to finish the job, doubts remain: Will private operators step up? Will the mapping ever truly be complete? And will this be the last time public money is needed - or just another chapter in Italy’s long struggle to wire up its most forgotten places?

The coming years will reveal whether this is the last mile - or the last chance - to finally close Italy’s digital divide.

WIKICROOK

VHCN (Very High Capacity Network): A VHCN is a broadband network providing ultra-fast speeds (1 Gbit/s+), using fiber or advanced wireless tech for reliable, high-capacity connectivity.
FTTH (Fiber To The Home): FTTH is fiber-optic broadband that connects directly to homes, enabling fast, reliable, and secure high-speed internet for modern digital lifestyles.
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA): Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) provides broadband using radio signals, not cables. It’s fast to deploy but needs strong cybersecurity to protect wireless data.
GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network): GPON is a fiber-optic network technology that delivers high-speed internet to multiple users by sharing a single optical fiber using passive splitters.
Backhaul: Backhaul links local networks to the core internet, enabling data transfer between distributed access points and central infrastructure. Securing it is crucial for cybersecurity.