Fibre-optic broadband: the activation nightmare – the network is there, but users are left in the lurch

Open Fiber highlights the lack of authorisations and, in ‘white areas’ – where the market has failed – the baffling provision in the Ultra-Broadband Plan whereby the network termination point may be located up to 40 metres from the house number.

FiberCop highlights difficulties in accessing parts of the building and blocked internal infrastructure.

The retailers, speaking with one voice, attribute much of the blame to their wholesale counterparts. Tim refers to street addresses which, only when it is too late, are found to be unsellable, and cites, amongst other things, the problem of misaligned databases and instances of technicians from wholesale operators failing to turn up for activation appointments.

Fastweb+Vodafone focuses on the actual distance from the fibre network to homes in ‘white areas’, WindTre on cabling issues in communal areas of blocks of flats, and Iliad on excessively high wholesale costs.

There are also various proposals for changing the system: ranging from more up-to-date databases to improvements in cut-off procedures, from the punctuality of wholesalers’ services to the mandatory switch-off from copper to fibre – as suggested by Open Fiber – right through to the joint initiatives with local authorities that FiberCop intends to roll out for the free installation of fibre-optic terminals inside homes.

Let’s summarise the key figures that provide an overview of the issue. The Italian network, which has received public funding of almost six billion euros over the last 10 years – more than half of which came via the NRRP – has achieved a reasonable level of coverage: almost 78 per cent of households are connected via FTTH. However, bridging the digital divide – the true aim of public funding – is not achieved simply when a property address is connected and becomes, in theory, marketable. One can only say the target has been met when a subscription order becomes an active connection; in other words, when a customer expressing a demand finds an offer capable of meeting it. According to AGCOM, if one adds together VDSL (Very High-Speed Digital Subscriber Line) lines, FTTH and FWA (Fixed Wireless Access), take-up stands at just 30.5 lines, residential and business combined, per 100 inhabitants.

Let’s move on to commercial-speed connections of 100 Mbit/s and above: in this case, the figure drops to 27.6. The situation worsens as speeds increase: subscriptions to lines operating at at least 1 Gbit/s stand at just 11.8 per 100 inhabitants. Looking instead at the ratio of FTTH subscriptions to the number of properties covered, we stand (according to Idate’s analysis) at 29.9 per cent: fifth from the bottom in Europe.

Some operators suggest viewing the phenomenon from a broader perspective, particularly in relation to the total number of active fixed-line connections: FTTH connections are still on the rise – up by almost 20 per cent in March 2026 compared with the same month a year ago – whilst, at the same time, FTTc (fibre to the cabinet), where the central office–cabinet section is fibre but the cabinet–home section is still copper.

FTTC is often the only option left to users when there are insurmountable activation issues, but for more advanced uses, its performance is not comparable. There may also be cases where the decision not to adopt it is a conscious choice, as consumers may be content with slightly lower performance than that offered by wireless technologies – such as 5G or the hybrid FWA solution – in return for much more attractive prices. Furthermore, in some provinces that lag behind others, various factors – such as the topography of the area – may play a part.

However, the reports coming in from users mainly highlight technical difficulties and a lack of offers from service providers. This represents a commercial and technological paradox in an Italia that has spent over 6 billion in public funds to build an increasingly widespread network, only to find itself with users up in arms over a service they are unable to purchase.