EU Said to Lean Against a Merger of Italy Broadband Networks
- Officials said to question Telecom Italia’s continued control
- Plan to unify landline networks has strong government backing
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The European Union’s antitrust arm would likely oppose Italy’s plan to create a single national broadband network controlled by former monopoly Telecom Italia SpA, according to people familiar with the matter. Telecom Italia shares fell as much as 7.4%.
EU competition officials led by Margrethe Vestager are concerned that a proposed combination of Telecom Italia’s landline network and its smaller, state-backed rival Open Fiber SpA would create a monopoly, reversing two decades of deregulation, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private.