The Voucher plan was developed by MiSE – Ministry of Economic Development – and by Infratel Italia in the first part of September, receiving the approval of the European Union . This is the disbursement of Voucher up to 500 Euro within a plan of critical importance for the innovation of our social fabric. The initiative crosses the infrastructural themes of network expansion in Optical fiber and represents an emergency measure in the light of the health crisis that has occurred (there has been talk of the Voucher plan for several years, while in 2019 a strong acceleration seemed to have been impressed) .

The plan, among the many objectives, aims to cover the schools and to provide aid to the weaker part of the Italian population . However, it encounters a strong critical point in the extent to which gives telephone operators a central role . It is the so-called concept of the bundle , through which telephone operators they can impose on applicants the technological devices with which they access the network, therefore routers, PCs and tablets . A situation that brings to mind an old (but not too much) nightmare, namely the question of the Free Modem .

The plan provides for the allocation of 500 Euro for families with an ISEE index up to 20. 000 EUR, 200 Euro for families with an ISEE index up to 50. 000 euro and for companies a contribution from 500 euro up to 2000 euro based on the size of the company. The contribution must be spent for the activation and the subscription fee of a connectivity service for at least 30 Mbit / s and for the purchase of a tablet, PC or router provided by ‘operator. The operating manual of the Decree indicates which portion of the amounts disbursed can be spent on devices and which on connectivity.

Vouchers are a tool through which the Government wants incentivize the demand from citizens towards technological tools, also following the road paved by recent European indications. Support for the demand towards devices such as computers and tablets, but also and above all for the provision of Ultra-broadband networks and the transition from ADSL to Fiber . The Voucher was originally designed in an organic way with respect to the diffusion of Fiber. Subsequently, the part of the infrastructures went ahead, while that of stimulating demand stopped. Delays that prevented its availability in time for the health crisis, which instead further increased the range of technological differences in the population, and consequently social.

On the other hand, one of the objectives of the conversion law of the Simplifications decree (law n. 120 – 2020) is explicitly to compensate for the delays accumulated for the implementation of the Ultra-broadband Plan (BUL Plan), in order to develop a network throughout the national territory consistent with the objectives of the European Digital Agenda . The amount allocated is close to one and a half billion euros, of which 200 million for the school.

Aires (Italian Association of Specialized Appliances Retailers), Ancra (National Association of Merchants) and MediaWorld announced that in the first part of next week they will present appeal to the Tar , with which a suspension will be requested which could block the entire initiative of the Vouchers . According to the applicants, a technical solution would be needed to unpack the bonus in two, therefore between supplying the devices and supplying the connection. According to them, this measure risks damaging the manufacturers of technological devices, who arbitrarily see themselves stolen potential consumers who could have turned to them for the purchase of the devices.

It is not at all automatic that the Tar accepts the suspension for the Voucher Decree and that therefore the disbursement is actually postponed. Already overdue for five years, the Vouchers could be launched and then corrected in the second phase. However, this is a situation that risks further slowing down a provision already extremely difficult in conception and definition, which from a certain point of view can really come to the rescue of the Italian population in a difficult period like the one we are experiencing.

Paradoxically, however, from the associative parties to those of consumers, as well as the internet service providers, and also the Antitrust, the provision seems to displease everyone . What is required is a reinterpretation of the concept of bundle inherent in the Decree, that is a separate voucher for the computer, tablet part, so that the user could freely choose the hardware equipment instead of being obliged to equip himself with a device not to be used. he freely chosen. From the point of view of Assoprovider , this point ends up becoming an element of discrimination, because only large operators are able to supply these devices, while small operators, depending on their size, may have difficulty in providing the necessary devices to users. If new users are supplied with hardware devices from large operators, there could be a substantial reduction in market share for small device suppliers.

Furthermore, the minimum features of the apparatus imposed by the Decree could burden small operators, who may not be able to supply what is requested. The conditions of minimum connectivity could be another obstacle, such as the minimum guaranteed bandwidth. 15 Mb / s in download and 7 Mb / s in upload , moreover difficult to verify and certify, can therefore represent a too stringent alley for small operators that operate in restricted local realities.

A plan that risks strengthening anti-competitive behaviors on the part of those who have the largest market shares and who cater to the least expert. In addition, government provisions risk being incompatible with the reality of the Italian network infrastructure. The crux of the question is the amount of network available, and therefore voucherizable, in a given area. The Italian system encounters logistical problems that we could define as secular, which clash with some points of the Decree .

Moreover, even the Antitrust had expressed itself in time on the issue , raising concerns, partly integrated into the Decree. Public funding cannot be an obstacle to free market competition, as also pointed out by the EU.

The news must then be framed in the context of the Next Generation EU , which will change many of the country’s economic balances. The European emergency instrument will allow individual ministries to finance various projects and, incidentally, to improve the Decree, also due to the difficulties that will arise in the implementation phase. Also because European initiatives are mainly based on the diffusion of technologies and digital. In the Economy and Society Digitization Index (DESI 2020 ) of the European Commission Italy results in 25 ° position up 28 EU Member States . Furthermore, on 17% of Italians according to the DESI index have never used the internet . The Voucher program is therefore crucial to bridge these gaps, also because incentives are already in place for electric cars oi electric scooters , but there is still nothing for i technological devices and connectivity .

The issue upstream of the Vouchers is then that of the effective ability to connect marginal areas , especially at a time when there are very high risks of new lockdowns, even if localized. In recent years Italy has been making giant steps in this regard, also because it started from