To meet the challenge posed by digitalization – and reap all the consequent benefits – it is more important than ever to focus on the role of ultra-broadband, increasing subscriptions by exploiting all the available technologies to guarantee uniform coverage throughout the country and, at the same time, develop network infrastructures whose performance is aligned with the needs of the demand. Study carried out on behalf of TIM.
The first half of 2020, with the outbreak of Covid-19, made it clear to everyone just
how powerful force digitalization could be for the adaptation and transformation of
our lives. The most obvious evidence could be seen in the sharp rise in the number of
workers engaged in smart working, which rocketed from 2% of the workforce in 2019
to 20% during the lockdown, confirming the urgency of bringing connectivity to every
part of Italy.
Digitalization is not just useful for increasing multi-factorial productivity, meaning the
component that has most affected the stagnation in productivity in the last 20 years,
but it is also a powerful tool of resilience for Italy’s economic system as a whole. It is
unfortunate that the current situation is still deficient, as evidenced very clearly by the
2020 edition of the DESI Index published by the European Commission, where Italy is the
25th of all 28 EU countries and, indeed, has dropped down two positions. Only Romania,
Greece and Bulgaria are less digitalized than Italy.
To meet the challenge posed by digitalization – and reap all the consequent benefits
– it is more important than ever to focus on the role of ultra-broadband, increasing
subscriptions by exploiting all the available technologies to guarantee uniform coverage
throughout the country and, at the same time, develop network infrastructures whose
performance is aligned with the needs of the demand.
To achieve these objectives, it is essential for Italy to adopt a model of infrastructural
development that will enable it to accelerate the rate of progress. The post in play with
this challenge is incredibly important. As we have highlighted in the Strategic Study, the
incremental contribution to the GDP deriving from full deployment of ultra-broadband
in Italy can, in fact, be estimated as an increase of €180.5 billion cumulatively between
2020 and 2030.
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