EIB Invests €350 Million with INWIT to Boost Digital Connectivity and Mobile Coverage Across Italy

(IN BRIEF) The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted €350 million to INWIT to support the expansion of digital telecommunications infrastructure across Italy, improving mobile coverage, especially in rural areas. The investment will fund the development of both macro-grid infrastructure (such as towers) and micro-grid systems (including small cells and multi-operator Distributed Antenna Systems), enhancing connectivity in key locations like hospitals, museums, and underground metro stations. This partnership strengthens the longstanding cooperation between the EIB and INWIT, advancing Italy’s digital infrastructure and supporting technological growth.

(PRESS RELEASE) LUXEMBOURG, 28-Feb-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Investment Bank (EIB), the lending arm of the European Union, has committed €350 million to INWIT, Italy’s leading telecommunications infrastructure operator, to enhance the country’s digital connectivity and improve mobile coverage across rural and urban areas. The agreement, signed today in Rome by EIB Vice-President Gelsomina Vigliotti and INWIT General Manager Diego Galli, will support the widespread deployment of digital telecommunications infrastructure in Italy.

This investment is aimed at advancing the development of both macro-grid and micro-grid telecommunications infrastructure. The macro-grid infrastructure, including raw land and rooftop towers, will provide essential connectivity for mobile network operators, including support for 5G and fixed wireless access (FWA) connections. In addition, the funding will be used for the installation of micro-grid systems, such as small cells for outdoor areas and multi-operator Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) for indoor spaces, improving connectivity in critical locations like hospitals, museums, shopping malls, underground metro stations, and motorway tunnels.

Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice-President of the EIB, commented, “This financing highlights the EIB’s ongoing commitment to supporting digital infrastructure development in Italy. It plays a vital role in fostering technological advancement and supporting the country’s transition to more advanced and efficient connectivity solutions. This partnership further strengthens the EIB’s strategic role in advancing telecommunications and driving digital innovation in Italy.”

Diego Galli, General Manager of INWIT, added, “This agreement acknowledges the strength of our business model and the strategic importance of our investments in digital and shared infrastructure. These investments are key to driving economic and industrial efficiency across the value chain, benefiting our customers. This partnership further deepens the strong and long-term cooperation between INWIT and the EIB.”

EIB

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union, owned by its Member States. Built around eight core priorities, we finance investments that contribute to EU policy objectives by bolstering climate action and the environment, digitalisation and technological innovation, security and defence, cohesion, agriculture and bioeconomy, social infrastructure, high-impact investments outside the European Union, and the capital markets union.

The EIB Group, which also includes the European Investment Fund (EIF), signed nearly €89 billion in new financing for over 900 high-impact projects in 2024, boosting Europe’s competitiveness and security. The EIB Group signed 99 operations totalling €10.98 billion in Italy in 2024, helping to unlock almost €37 billion of investment in the real economy. All projects financed by the EIB Group are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement, as pledged in our Climate Bank Roadmap. Almost 60% of the EIB Group’s annual financing supports projects directly contributing to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and a healthier environment.

Fostering market integration and mobilising investment, the Group supported a record of over €100 billion in new investment for Europe’s energy security in 2024 and mobilised €110 billion in growth capital for startups, scale-ups and European pioneers. Approximately half of the EIB’s financing within the European Union is directed towards cohesion regions, where per capita income is lower than the EU average.

High-quality, up-to-date photos of our headquarters for media use are available here.

INWIT

INWIT, Italy’s first tower company and one of the country’s digital infrastructure leaders, builds and manages digital shared infrastructure enabling mobile telecommunication connectivity. Its assets form part of an integrated ecosystem of macro-grids (around 25 000 towers) and micro-grids (some 600 dedicated indoor DAS roofs), including 4G and 5G of the main mobile operators, FWAs and IoT sensors. INWIT contributes to more efficient development of the telco ecosystem, which is key for the digital transition and 5G, and is also committed to reducing the digital divide via the implementation of the 5G national recovery and resilience plan. INWIT is listed on the Italian Stock Exchange (FTSE MIB – benchmark stock market index)

Media contact:

Lorenzo Squintani
l.squintani@eib.org
+352437982528

Press Office
press@eib.org
+352 43791

SOURCE: European Investment Bank