The signing of binding agreements kicked off a major drafting project submarine cables that they will go from Mazara del Vallo to Genoa.
After the signing of the agreement between Unidata and the Ipc fund of azimuth the cable laying project can be started: he will be the one to lead it United Kingdom Submarine Network. The responsible company will be an investee, made up 96% by a HoldCo and 4% by a union of managers who had worked hard to promote the initiative. As for HoldCo: this was born from the merger of Fondo Ipc (66.67%) and unidata (33.33%)
The project will allow to connect, through a submarine network different localities of our peninsula: leaving from Mazara del Vallo will arrive up to Genoawith one joint to 16 pairs at the height of Rome-Fiumicino. The realization of the work will be commissioned to Alcatel Submarine Networks and Elettra Tlc. Once completed, the will be created first open cable system with 24 pairs of fiberswhich will make it possible to reach traffic speeds, for each pairOf 20 terabytes per second. This will allow for an overall speed of 480 terabytes per second on the main section and 320 Tbps on the branch line towards Fiumicino.
About that Alcatel Submarine Networks and Elettra Tlc they expressed themselves as follows:
“It will be the first Open Cable system with 24 pairs of optical fibers, in the Mediterranean region with state-of-the-art submarine technologies aimed at meeting the ever-increasing broadband needs both nationally and internationally“.
Unitirreno will carry out the financing of the work, which is estimated to have a cost of 80 million euro, about half (36 million to be precise) through equity, where Unidata will pay an amount between twelve and eighteen million, while the the remaining part will be financed by the banking system and by self-financing generated by the operation.
Renato Brunettipresident and CEO of Unidata commented on the operation as follows:
“We are very pleased to collaborate again with Azimut Libera Impresa Sgr, thus consolidating our partnership, for the realization of this grandiose project which will strengthen the development of the Italian digital infrastructure, allowing us to be an alternative to the current Marseille hub and to provide points of strategic landing place for intercontinental cables from Asia and Africa. Unitirreno, connecting Sicily with the capital and with Northern Italy by sea, will provide solid sea routes and allow the development of important synergies between the Rome-Fiumicino hub and the green data center that we will build on site together with Azimut Libera Impresa Sgr starting in the next few months“.
Also Andrea Cornettimanaging director of Infrastructures and Real Estate Azimut Libera Impresa Sgr expressed his satisfaction:
“The active and valuable collaboration with Unidata allows us to add to the portfolio of the Ipc Fund another investment in an infrastructure that is crucial for the country’s digital transition and for its economy, which perfectly combines the return in economic-financial terms with positive impacts on community. Our attention to the dimensions of Sustainability is maximum and is confirmed by the assessment made by the Technical Committee of the Fund according to which the investment will contribute to the achievement of 8 of the 17 sustainable development goals of the United Nations“.
