Metroweb, Vodafone and Wind will work together on the project, Metroweb's shareholders Fondo Strategico Italiano and F2i revealed on Friday.

The project will also be open to other companies that may wish to join, they said.

The firms did not share further information about the scope of the network build, nor its expected timeframe. They simply said the network will be built according to the Italian government's ultra-broadband plan.

3Italian telecoms operators announced a plan to collaborate on the rollout of a national fibre network in the country.

Metroweb has been the subject of takeover speculation in recent months, with both Vodafone and incumbent Telecom Italia being linked with the company.

In late April Reuters reported that Telecom Italia had been thwarted in its bid. FSI, the investment arm of state bank Cassa Depositi e Presititi, said it was not in a position to accept terms outlined in a memorandum of understanding drafted by Telecom Italia, the newswire claimed.

It is not yet clear whether that rejection puts paid to Telecom Italia's ambitions.

Milan-based Metroweb operates a fibre network in and around its home region.

Total Telecom