Business and broadband

Telecommunications

SMEs and ultra-wideband: the (obstacle) race towards the Gigabit Society

Between patchy coverage, public investment and cultural gaps, the digital transition of small and medium-sized enterprises is still far from the finish line

by Andrea Biondi

8 May 2025

3' min read

3' min read

In the beating heart of the Italian economy, small and medium-sized enterprises are moving, as far as digitisation is concerned, at a speed that, unfortunately, is not always that of light. And while the rollout of fibre optics has been the focus of attention for the past ten years or so (with the entry of Open Fiber, desired by the Renzi government, as a turning point), paradoxically there is the risk that the technological revolution (when it is completed) may leave behind precisely those who would need to run the most.

L’infrastruttura

Over the last ten years, Italy has invested - also thanks to substantial public funds - in the development of Ftth (Fibre to the Home) fibre optic networks, the key infrastructure for achieving the Gigabit Society that has been vaunted in Europe. Yet, as attested by a joint work by Agcom and the Osservatorio Innovazione Digitale nelle Pmi (Observatory for Digital Innovation in SMEs) of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano, while over 59% of Italian homes now enjoy Ftth coverage, only 49% of SMEs can say the same. A figure that clashes with the essential role these companies play in the national economy.

The paradox becomes more acute when one considers that availability does not equate to usage. Only just over 20% of Italian SMEs have adopted connections of at least 1 Gbps. Copper, a relic of the telephone networks of the past, is still too present, while fibre - fast, stable, low latency - struggles to really enter business processes.

Delays in territories

The joint study by Agcom and the Politecnico di Milano then shows a situation that becomes even more complicated on a territorial level. The Italy of digital SMEs thus appears to be an uneven mosaic. Prato, Milan, Genoa and Trieste shine as virtuous models, with Ftth coverage percentages above 70%. At the opposite extreme we find Oristano, South Sardinia and Bolzano, where broadband is still a chimera and connections are struggling under 30 Mbit/s.

But it is not (only) a geographical issue, nor is it a North-South simplification. While regions such as Lombardy, Lazio and Campania - with strong entrepreneurial density - boast good levels of coverage (over 58%), regions such as Molise and Sicily also stand out positively. On the contrary, regions such as Valle d'Aosta, Marche and Basilicata remain at the bottom of the ranking.

A striking fact emerges: the direct correlation between business density and digital infrastructure. In areas with more than ten companies, Ftth coverage reaches 83%. In areas with only one business, it drops to 42%. Market logic still wins out: bringing fibre to where demand is concentrated is more sustainable, more profitable, faster. But this risks perpetuating - if not aggravating - inequalities.

The Services Challenge

Besides connectivity, other challenges remain. The adoption of advanced digital services is still low: cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence remain uncommon among SMEs. Cultural barriers, lack of digital skills and poor project support are holding back a transformation that should be structural. Yet the urgency is clear. A fast network is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for the future. From cloud management to online sales, from industrial automation to data analysis, digitisation is today the dividing line between competitiveness and marginality.

This is why all eyes are on the new Broadband Map, the result of work by Agcom and the Politecnico di Milano, designed to be not only an information tool, but also a driver of targeted public policies.