Italy to invest 1.47 billion euros on national broadband

Italy announced a 1.47 billion euro ($2.06 billion) investment in a national broadband plan that will help overcome the existing digital divide. Italy is currently listed as 22nd in the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development's broadband rankings, only slightly behind the United States' 15th ranking.

Currently thirteen percent of Italians have no access to the Internet or insufficient bandwidth, and the majority of those without broadband live in rural areas.

The Italian Government's undersecretary for telecommunication, Paolo Romani, said the goal is to provide the entire population access to broadband technology, with a speed of between two and twenty megabits per second, by 2012.

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OECD releases latest rankings; U.S. remains at #15 (Speed Matters)

Italy says 1.47 bn euros needed to overcome digital divide (Total Telecom)

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