Telecom Italia will invest nearly €12 billion in both fixed and mobile infrastructure in the period to 2018, as it looks to become a “digital telco and platform company”.

By the end of the period, it is targeting 84 per cent of the population with access to fibre optics and more than 98 per cent availability of 4G. It expects around 70 per cent of its mobile broadband customers to be using the network by 2018, as a result of blanket 75Mb/s coverage and peaks of 300Mb/s in eight main cities.

For its domestic market, it will look “to accelerate the penetration of smart devices and to market bundle offers that generate a higher ARPU, even supported by exclusive agreements with device manufacturers”.

In the domestic fixed unit, it is looking to reduce the falling number of customers to reach a balance in 2018. This will be achieved by the rollout of fibre.

As for Brazil, the group is planning investments of BRL14 billion (€3.13 billion), mainly for the development of network infrastructure. Efficiency gains will also be important, by which it aims to recover BRL1 billion by 2017.

The plan was announced in line with the Italian incumbent’s preliminary full year results, where it noted improvements in the performance for its next-generation technologies – the fibre and LTE rollouts.

EBITDA was down 20.3 per cent from the prior year to €7 billion, on revenue of €19.72 billion, down 8.6 per cent. Consolidated profit attributable to shareholders is expected to be around €150 million, compared with a prior-year figure of €1.35 billion.

Revenue was down across its main businesses, including a 25.8 per cent decline to €4.66 billion in Brazil.

It also said group EBITDA was impacted by a €1.1 billion one-off charge, without which the decline would have been less steep.

The company said the numbers indicate “the continued recovery of the domestic performance”.

Brazil was impacted by mobile termination rate cuts as well as lower revenue from traditional mobile services, which were only partially offset by mobile data and VAS.

Its net debt was €27.28 billion, up €627 million year-on-year, “despite the positive dynamic of operations and finances, the revenue from the Inwit IPO on the domestic market and the sale of the ownership of towers in Brazil”.

The increase was attributed to higher debt due for finance leases connected to property deals, the back-leasing of a stake in the Brazil towers, and net negative impacts of a bond buyback which will lead to lower financial charges in future.

For Q4, EBITDA of €1.39 billion was down 36.9 per cent, on revenue of €4.84 billion, down 13.5 per cent.