In the province of Varese, a broadband network is also available in historic villages

The mayors of our municipalities have addressed multiple issues looking forward to the future, including accelerating broadband deployment even in the less populated areas of the city.

During the national assembly of Italian municipalities (ANCI) which took place in the last few days, the mayors of our municipalities addressed many issues looking forward to the future, including that of accelerating broadband deployment even in the less populated areas of the city. Theoretically, for many years already, the government has launched a plan for areas that are defined as “market failures,” that is, where the number of inhabitants would not justify a very high investment, such as that in the Internet infrastructure.

Unfortunately, in many of these areas, the schedules have not been met, and the deployment of high-speed Internet is lower than planned. Partially compensating for OpenFiber’s delays, a new impetus is coming for the “Connected Villages” initiative, which WindTre presented at the recent ANCI assembly in Bergamo; the aim is to bring 5G to small municipalities along with super-fast networks.

The Connected Villages initiative

“Connected Villages” is a multi-year project that aims to increase citizens’ and mayors’ digital awareness and culture, as well as to promote the image of small municipalities as centers where people can live and work remotely, by accompanying them through a process of developing their potential and opportunities in the technological field, while reducing the country’s territorial, economic, cultural, and anagraphic digital divide, that is, the gap between citizens and their mayors.

Obviously, in order to be able to move to a historic village and take your business with you, one of the basic requirements is the availability of a fast and efficient Internet connection. In order for this to happen in the province of Varese as well, the collaboration between the operator WindTre and the StartUp HQVillage, whose goal is to accelerate the development of “Connected Villages,” becomes important.

Working in a historic village

The two companies will mix their expertise to provide public administrations and citizens with new digital tools, with the aim of accelerating the much-talked-about digital transition. When a municipality joins the “Connected Villages” initiative, meetings will be organized with citizens to show them the new digital tools available and explain how to use them. Besides, administrators will be provided with an Internet portal through which they can discover, learn about, and book accommodations in various small Italian villages, where they can move and work remotely.

Joining Connected Villages

The Connected Villages initiative has already been launched in more than 40 villages located in eight Italian regions. For people who live in one of the small municipalities in the province of Varese, this can be an interesting opportunity to imagine a new business and build their own tomorrow; it is worth stimulating the local administration to apply for the project on the HQVillage portal. People should not make the mistake of thinking that 5G coverage and the arrival of super-fast networks are just for watching TV in higher definition or making online multiplayer gaming easier.

The possibility of benefiting from high network speeds and good-quality cellular coverage also leads to increased competitiveness for our companies and the possibility of providing better and more widespread services to citizens. Furthermore, the availability of fast networks and the quality data transfer that results allows for an increase in the level of security services.

Unfortunately, our central administration is incredibly behind other areas in Europe, also because of the country’s difficult orographic map. Not only that, but all of the data released on the availability of fiber in Italy is wildly inaccurate.Up to now, information concerning excavations for the fiber has been carried out, but the final connection is only present in buildings with at least six residential units.

This means that in the large Italian provinces, the land of small villas, terraced solutions, and two-family houses, the cable is left on the pavement without making the final connection, so the residents are responsible for the excavations. It is sufficient to take a walk in one of our cities to see thousands of fiber terminals abandoned to themselves along the street.

There is a gap that needs to be bridged, and Connected Villages can make a major contribution in closing it.

Translated by Guido Rovera

Revised by Nicole Dall’Osto & Matt Regano