• The collaboration will leverage FiberCop’s distributed footprint, with around 27 million km of fiber optic rolled out and 10,500 sites
• Microsoft Azure Local will power FiberCop’s edge data centers with advanced data sovereignty solutions, faster response times and improved reliability
• The two company’s agreement aims at accelerating digital transformation in Italy, delivering innovative services for Italian businesses and the public administration.

Rome, December 4^th, 2025 –FiberCop and Microsoft Italy have signed a strategic collaboration to bring the power of cloud and AI closer to Italian companies, integrating FiberCop’s extensive network and edge infrastructure with Microsoft Azure Local.

The initiative aims to deliver innovative and secure cloud and AI services with low latency and ensure data sovereignty, addressing the needs of businesses as well as the public administration.

The agreement is part of the broader framework of collaboration between FiberCop and Microsoft, which boast a long-standing cooperation on strategic projects of agentic AI and cutting-edge cloud services. “Through our collaboration with Microsoft Italy, FiberCop is taking a significant step ahead towards its mission of becoming Italy’s digital champion” Massimo Sarmi Chairman and CEO of FiberCop commented.” By expanding our fiber-based infrastructure through advanced computing services, FiberCop will be able to deliver a broader range of digital solutions. Our strength lies in the company’s unique, extensive asset footprint and unmatched expertise in managing critical infrastructure, enabling us to accelerate Italy’s digital transition and reduce the country’s digital divide. With these capabilities, FiberCop is better positioned than any other player in the market to drive innovation and support Italy’s digital future.”

This new initiative combines Microsoft’s global expertise in cloud and AI with FiberCop’s nationwide fiber and edge network footprint, creating a distributed architecture able to support real-time analysis of IoT data and applications of client companies throughout the country.

Azure Local will accelerate innovation on  cloud and AI by  delivering new applications resources and services from cloud to edge. Azure Local is Microsoft’s distributed infrastructure solution that extends Azure capabilities to customer-owned environments. It facilitates local deployment of modern and legacy applications in locations that are distributed or have sovereignty requirements.

“With Azure Local and FiberCop’s edge network, we’ll enable organisations across the country to innovate from the Cloud to the Edge, maintaining complete control over their data while reaping the benefits of the latest AI innovation,” said Vincenzo Esposito, CEO Microsoft Italy.

By deploying Microsoft Azure Local across FiberCop’s edge sites and leveraging the company’s distributed network in Italy, local organisations can benefit from:

• data sovereignty and compliance aligned with European and Italian regulations, ensuring sensitive data remains within national borders

• ultra-low latency for applications requiring immediate responsiveness, such as industrial automation, healthcare systems and smart city solutions

• eEnhanced resilience and scalability, enabling businesses to innovate without compromising security or performance

Edge cloud computing allows the delivery of digital services by bringing computing and data storage resources closer to where they are consumed—right at the "edge" of the network.

Edge cloud computing spreads out the computing power. Medium or small data centers, or even smart devices are now closer to users and businesses, making services faster, more reliable, and better suited to local needs. While big data centers are still important for storing large amounts of data and running massive applications, edge computing fills the gap for tasks that need quick, local responses.

The collaboration between FiberCop and Microsoft in Italy reflects a shared commitment to accelerate Italy’s digital transformation and foster innovation across industries, including telecommunications, public services, smart cities, enabling organisations to take full advantage of leading-edge Cloud and AI services.

About FiberCop

FiberCop runs Italy’s most advanced, extensive and pervasive digital network infrastructure. With  around 27 million km of fibre optic cable already laid, 10,500 exchanges, over 160,000 street cabinets, and more than 114.3 million kilometers of copper network. This infrastructure is supported by more than 18,300 professionals across Italy, committed to building the network of the future in line with the objectives of the European Digital Agenda: 1-Gbps connection for the entire population by 2030. FiberCop’s shareholders are the US fund KKR Infrastructure, the Canadian pension fund CPP Investments, the Abu Dhabi fund Adia, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the Italian infrastructure fund F2.i.

For more information, please visit fibercop.com

Microsoft

Microsoft enables organizations to carry out their digital transformation projects through new innovation scenarios such as Cloud Computing and Artificial Intelligence. The company’s mission is to empower people and organizations around the world to achieve more through technology and digital innovation.

More information about Microsoft is available at  https://www.microsoft.com/it-it/