AGCOM is assessing the impact of the deal on the obligations attached to spectrum licences recently acquired by Wind Tre.
Background: Wind Tre acquired 20MHz of spectrum in the 3.7GHz band in October 2018, when the Italian Government auctioned spectrum across the 700MHz, 3.7GHz, and 26GHz bands. One of the conditions attached to 3.7GHz licences was the coverage of 5% of the population, for each region of Italy, within 48 months of the start of the licence. The conditions also stated that the regulator AGCOM may define a new plan of coverage obligations, to complement or replace the existing ones, in the event of mergers or agreements involving holders of 3.7GHz licences. In June 2019, Wind Tre and Fastweb announced an agreement to deploy a nationwide 5G network, with an initial duration of 10 years and a target to cover 90% of the population by 2026.
AGCOM re-examines the coverage obligations: On 19 February 2020, the Italian regulator started the procedure to assess the need to replace (or add), new coverage obligations. The regulator set a deadline of 120 days from the start of the process, which means it could make a final decision in June 2020. However, the 120-day clock can be paused if AGCOM requires additional information, and the deadline can be subject to extensions.
The JV also faces a legal challenge: The Ministry of Economic Development authorised the agreement in September 2019. AGCOM’s inquiry is limited to the coverage obligations and will not have any impact on the venture going ahead. Once the inquiry is complete, the shared network will be subject to any new requirements AGCOM sets out. Meanwhile, the venture is also facing a legal challenge from Iliad, which appealed the MISE’s decision to authorise the deal. A ruling on merit is scheduled for 7 October 2020.
