CEBF invests in a greenfield wholesale FTTH / FTTO project in Italy

• Connecting Europe Broadband Fund has invested in a greenfield wholesale fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) / fiber-to-the-office (FTTO) project operated by ClioFiber in Italy.
• It is one of the most important FTTH infrastructure projects in Southern Italy, targeting to roll out full fiber broadband to 130,000 premises and to reach 20+ municipalities and a number of business parks across rural and semi-rural areas.
• ClioFiber marks CEBF’s tenth investment in Europe and second in Italy.

Luxembourg, December 6, 2022 – Cube Infrastructure Managers’ (“Cube”) Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (“CEBF”) is pleased to announce its investment in a promising wholesale fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) / fiber-to-the-office (FTTO) project operated by ClioFiber in Italy. The first phase of this project represents an investment plan of c. €50 million.

ClioFiber marks a major milestone in CEBF’s history as the fund’s tenth investment since its launch. CEBF is the first investment platform supporting broadband and digital infrastructure investments from both private and public investors under the European Fund for Strategic Investment (EFSI), and was created to implement the European Commission’s Gigabit Society targets. In line with its investment strategy, CEBF’s investments aim to respond to the growing demand for financing greenfield projects across Europe. To date, CEBF has committed close to €250m in FTTH infrastructure projects that target to connect more than 1.7 million homes and businesses.

The project, CEBF’s second investment in Italy, is expected to become one of the most important FTTH infrastructure projects in Southern Italy and will allow the deployment of state-of-the-art FTTH infrastructure to connect rural and semi-rural communities, in line with CEBF’s mission to enhance connectivity for households and businesses across Europe.

ClioFiber plans to cover c. 20+ municipalities with its transmission infrastructure, and provide full fiber broadband to 130,000 premises within two years, creating new job opportunities in the region. In addition to its partnership with ClioCom (together with its affiliate FibraSalento), an established local ISP, ClioFiber has a top-tier management team including CEO Moreno Grassi (former COO at Metroweb and Wholesale Director at Irideos) and Senior Technical Adviser Stefano Paggi (former COO at OpenFiber and Head of Open Access at TIM), among others.

The European Commission, one of CEBF’s anchor investors, commented: “This CEBF’s tenth investment also represents a great achievement for the European Commission, setting an important milestone in the achievement of EU connectivity objectives. Launched in 2018, the Fund has already contributed significantly to the development of broadband network infrastructures. Indeed, the Fund has invested in the roll-out of FttH to 1.7 million premises in the Union and it is expected to invest in the roll out of many more. Subscribing to the most junior and riskier share class of the layered investment fund, the European Commission has successfully stimulated private capital investments (which represent 30% of the fund) in the deployment of gigabit networks in rural and lower density areas, and created new dynamics in the sector.”