Tim in the light, analysts promote possible agreement with Open Fibre

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Telecom Italia is in the spotlight at Piazza Affari, gaining more than a point at the start, in the wake of rumours about negotiations with Open Fiber to expand the existing commercial agreement, activating another 200,000 fibre lines. In detail, as Il Sole 24 Ore wrote, Tim is preparing to buy a defined package of fibre lines to be activated, with the 'take or pay' mechanism. This is a modality that 'would allow a saving on the cost per line for Tim,' reads the piece, 'and on the other hand would be advantageous for Open Fiber, which would realise revenues independently of the activation of the lines. With the 200,000 new activations, there could thus be 400,000 lines activated by mid-2028. The condition for the agreement, however, the article notes, is the closing of the deal by the first quarter of this year'.

According to Intermonte, 'the collaboration between Tim and Open Fiber would cover areas complementary to those currently covered by FiberCop'. The news according to analysts, combined with the recent publication of the Digital Networks Act (which anticipates the switch-off of copper to 2035), could "put pressure on FiberCop's business model and lay the foundations for a future collaboration, also commercial, of the company with Open Fiber". Eventuality at the moment very distant for Intermonte. Equita points out that the agreement between Tim and Open Fiber 'would follow a similar contract already in place for 200 thousand lines'. The news, recalls the Sim, comes as the countdown has begun to 28 January, the date on which the shareholders' meetings (extraordinary meeting for ordinary shareholders and special meeting for savings shareholders) will be held to vote on the savings share conversion operation and the reduction in share capital.

Also boosting Tim's shares was a positive report from Barclays, which raised its target price on ordinary shares to 65 cents and for savings shares to EUR 0.77 with a 'Neutral' rating. For the analysts, 'Tlc management has maintained its ambitious forecasts' for last year. For 2026, it is therefore possible to foresee 'another year of growth above the competition (+3% revenue in organic terms), driven in particular by B2B, where the company has a unique exposure to Data Centres and the Cloud'. In addition, in Italy, there could be 'a more favourable pricing environment, the announcement of further synergies with its new main shareholder (Poste Italiane +0.55%), while 'market consolidation is a source of potential upside'.