(Telecompaper) Telecom Italia (TIM) has announced a joint venture with broadband provider Fastweb to invest a total of EUR 1.2 billion to accelerate the rollout of FTTH technology in 29 cities across Italy. The partnership envisages the establishment of a joint venture with 80 percent of the capital held by TIM and 20 percent by Fastweb. The aim is to bring 1Gbps connections to a total of around 3 million homes by 2020, with the partners also indicating that they could extend the joint venture to other sectors.