The number of requests received by Lepida for connectivity with the Ultra Wideband increases on a daily basis. The plan in Emilia-Romagna foresees two actions: backbones and access. The backbones are carried out by Lepida as an extension of the Lepida Network, while Open Fiber is in charge of the access procedures, as the concession holder chosen through a public selection. The backbone activates a territory or an area. Access activates a building or an individual property unit.
To date, Lepida has completed 94 routes under the European Program ERDF for a total of 4.3M€, with an already consolidated utilization on 23 routes; while, within the context of the EAFRD we manage 55 routes for a total of 6.9M€, with an already consolidated utilization on 35 routes. It is clear that the EAFRD sections (typically in the mountains) are more expensive than the ERDF sections (typically in the plains), but also that the EAFRD sections are more immediately predisposed for use. A detailed analysis of all the sections realized is provided for each Province of Emilia-Romagna (see this page in Italian), also with the indication of the realizations already completed, according to the regional law 14/2014 for the promotion of investments in the Region.
Regarding Open Fiber, the construction sites opened for constructing the fibers were 66 in 2018; the plan they have recently presented to Lepida provides for a doubling of the construction sites in 2019. Of particular interest is the national website on the Ultra Wideband, with updated information on the shares in Emilia-Romagna (in Italian).
On February 5th, Open Fiber published the list of C&D services (in Italian), which therefore allows TLC operators to know the conditions of use of the public infrastructures managed by the concessionaire, in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. This price list is the basic condition for allowing the use of the infrastructures built, while the beginning of the services saleability is already expected in the coming months. The price list is very interesting for what concerns the cost of some services that TLC operators can offer to the end user. For example, the FTTB and FTTH access services costs 11.7 and 10.8 Euro per month for TLC operators. It should be noted that the P2P FTTB services provide a free access fee for the PA, as expected, and that the FTTH services terminate the stud at the user's home, through Open Fiber itself or any other Operator.
