Telecom Italia Faces 2.6 billion Euro Claim in Broadband Case

Telecom Italia (TIM) faces a 2.6 billion euro ($2.9 billion) request for damages in a case relating to alleged abuse of its dominant position in the broadband market after a complaint by rival Open Fiber, the phone group’s 2021 financial statement shows.

As previously disclosed, Open Fiber filed a complaint with a Milan court in 2020 seeking 1.5 billion euros in damages from TIM after Italy’s competition regulator ruled that the former phone monopoly had abused its dominant position to hinder rival investments in ultra-fast broadband in remote areas of Italy.

The amount requested in damages has increased to 2.6 billion euros, an entry in TIM’s annual financial report, published on the telecom group’s website on Wednesday, showed.

TIM is opposing Open Fiber’s claims in court, the document also showed.

Enel, which sold its stake in Open Fiber last year, has also asked the court to order TIM to pay for all past and future damages suffered by both Open Fiber and itself, TIM said in its annual report.

Telecom Italia and Enel were not immediately available to comment. Open Fiber declined to comment.

MILAN (Reuters)