• Digital Twin, secure communications, edge computing and 6G at the heart of the collaboration

• The first research projects have been launched with the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and WiLab in Bologna

Rome, 16 October 2025 – FiberCop, the company managing Italy’s most extensive and far-reaching digital infrastructure, and CNIT (the National Inter-University Consortium for Telecommunications), which brings together Italy’s leading universities active in ICT, have signed a collaboration agreement to foster innovation and skills development in telecommunications networks.

The projects

The first areas of collaboration concern two major projects launched by FiberCop with the CNIT Research Unit at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa and with WiLab (the Federated National Laboratory of Wireless Communications) in Bologna.  In particular, the research with the Sant’Anna School focuses on fibre optic technologies and envisages the use of a Digital Twin solution - a digital replica of the physical infrastructure - for network control. A further area of investigation concerns communications security through the application of steganography, a technique capable of concealing the existence of information travelling across networks.

The project undertaken with WiLab in Bologna focuses on applying edge computing in industrial settings, with the goal of evolving FiberCop’s exchanges into enabling infrastructure for advanced Industry 4.0 digital services.

“The collaboration with CNIT allows us to accelerate innovation in telecommunications networks, contributing to the development of the entire sector by experimenting with solutions based on key technologies such as Digital Twin, edge computing and 6G”, said Daniele Franceschini, Head of Technology & Innovation at FiberCop.

The contribution to 6G standardisation

The agreement between FiberCop and CNIT follows the collaboration launched within the RESTART Foundation - the most significant publicly funded research and development programme implemented in Italy in the telecommunications sector - of which the company has been a partner since July 2024. FiberCop is active within 3GPP, with the aim of ensuring an active role for Italy’s ICT ecosystem in 6G standardisation efforts. The new generation of mobile networks represents a major step towards integrating telecommunications networks with the cloud, leveraging artificial intelligence and cloud-native architectures. Also in this area, FiberCop is developing Network Digital Twin solutions to manage and coordinate fixed, mobile, cloud and satellite networks, in order to deliver best-in-class digital services nationwide.

“This collaboration between FiberCop and CNIT marks an important step towards integrating academic research and industrial innovation - one of the key objectives of the RESTART programme,” said Professor Nicola Blefari Melazzi, President of CNIT and of the RESTART Foundation.

Prof. Francesco De Natale, Director of CNIT, expressed “great appreciation and satisfaction for this agreement with FiberCop, inspired by collaboration within the RESTART programme projects; the first objectives set will enable the two organisations to embark on a long-term collaboration that will undoubtedly benefit the country.”

Training tomorrow’s professionals

Alongside the research activities, the collaboration between FiberCop and CNIT also includes training programmes dedicated to FiberCop’s people.  The goal is to transfer knowledge and skills in key technologies, thereby building a bridge between academia and business. 

“The agreement between FiberCop and CNIT enables us to train the professionals that are needed to lead the digital transformation by leveraging human capital”, explained Maria Lamelas Godinez, Chief Human Resources Officer at FiberCop.“Partnerships with academia and universities allow us to create a dynamic, inclusive ecosystem and to make FiberCop a driver of growth and experimentation contributing tangibly to the country’s digital transformation.”