(Finance) – Unidatatelecommunications, cloud and IoT services operator, announces that UniCredit will support the development plan of UNIFIBER – a joint venture established by Unidata and CEBF – for the construction of the end-to-end FTTH (Fiber to the Home) fiber optic network in Lazio, thanks to a 10 million ESG-linked loan Euro, with a duration of 10 years, divided into two loans, one of which of 7.15 million Euros guaranteed by SACE through “Garanzia Futuro”.
The investment is intended for the construction of fiber optic infrastructures in the so-called “grey areas” of Lazio, territories that currently do not have stable and fast broadband connectivity. The project, also supported by equity contributions from the UNIDATA Group and the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund, aims to cover approximately 200,000 potential users. This is in line with the objectives of the European Digital Agenda 2020, the Gigabit Europe 2025 plan and the Digital Decade Policy Program (DDPP), which aim
to provide high-quality connectivity standards to all European citizens, with speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
The ESG-linked loan of UniCredit is aimed at companies committed to improving their sustainability profile, based on objectives that respect ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria. The interest rate will be reduced from the start for companies that, like UNIFIBER, are committed to monitoring their ESG performance through specific indicators.
Among the objectives agreed for UNIFIBER are technological innovation in the so-called “grey areas” of Lazio, the offer of advanced digital services to bridge the digital divide and the protection of local environmental and landscape resources. The network will be implemented mainly by exploiting existing civil infrastructure, thus ensuring cost reduction and minimal environmental impact.