Telecom Italia files complaint against KKR-backed FiberCop over network tariffs

By Elvira Pollina

MILAN, June 24 (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) has filed a complaint with a Milan court against new landline grid tariffs set by KKR-backed FiberCop which bought TIM's telecoms network in 2024, two sources said.

The dispute centres around the terms governing TIM's access to the fixed-line network assets it sold to a KKR-led consortium as part of a broader restructuring aimed at slashing TIM's debt by €14 billion.

The court complaint was filed under a fast-track procedure, with a first hearing on the case scheduled for early July, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on condition of anonymity because the matter is not public.

A third person said that the new tariff scheme entails dozens of millions of euros each year in additional costs for TIM, which now pays to use the grid it once owned.

TIM declined to comment. FiberCop said in a statement to Reuters that it will file its defence within the court-set deadlines, maintaining that its conduct was fully appropriate and that TIM’s action is unfounded.

FiberCop, which operates Italy's main telecommunications landline network, is 37.5% owned by U.S. investment firm KKR, with the Italian Treasury holding a 16% stake.

NETWORK SALE

As part of the 2024 network sale, TIM and FiberCop signed a long-term contract governing TIM’s access to FiberCop’s landline assets, under which TIM buys capacity to sell to end customers, with annual payments of around €2 billion.

In its complaint, TIM asked the court to make FiberCop follow the scheme of tariffs set in the agreement, the people said, without adding further details.

FiberCop revised its pricing framework after Italy’s telecoms watchdog AGCOM, in a March 16 resolution, classified it as a wholesale-only operator and set out lighter regulatory obligations.

The AGCOM ruling removes previous cost-oriented price controls across most of Italy, replacing them with a fair and reasonable pricing assessment, allowing FiberCop greater flexibility in setting tariffs.

FiberCop said TIM’s legal challenge does not suspend AGCOM's ongoing tariff review nor impose pricing conditions, which fall under the authority’s remit.

The new pricing is expected to come into force from September 16, 2026, following a six-month transition period, with existing regulated prices remaining in place until then.

(Reporting by Elvira Pollina, editing by Gavin Jones, Valentina Za and Keith Weir)