Italy drafts $1.7 billion aid package for battered telecoms sector

MILAN: Italy’s industry ministry is studying a set of measures worth around 1.5 billion euros ($1.65 billion) to support battered domestic telecoms firms, a draft decree seen by Reuters showed.

Italy’s telecoms sector has been grappling with cut-throat price competition which has put margins under pressure in recent years, dampening its ability to fund investments needed to upgrade their infrastructure.

Under the draft, details of which were not previously fully disclosed, the ministry proposes to cut levies weighing on energy bills paid by firms deemed by the state to be of strategic importance, including telcos, for three years until 2025.