TIM-led consortium tables proposal for Italy's cloud hub

MILAN (Reuters) - A group led by Italian phone group Telecom Italia (TIM) has presented a plan to the government's innovation ministry to create a cloud-based infrastructure for the country's public administration data.

The infrastructure, called National Strategic Hub (NSH), is part of the Italian government's strategy to accelerate digital transformation and guarantee national data security and control.

Partnering with TIM are state lender CDP, cybersecurity group Leonardo and state-owned IT company Sogei.

The cloud hub, one of the projects funded by the European Union to help Italy's economy recover from the pandemic, reflects European efforts to make the 27-member bloc less dependent on large overseas tech companies for cloud services.

"The aim is to provide innovative services to citizens and businesses, in line with the provisions of the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan," the partners said.

In its national Recovery Plan sent to Brussels in April to access EU funds, Rome earmarked 900 million euros for it.

With the proposal, the consortium led by TIM has offered Italy's innovation ministry to enter in a public-private partnership to create the hub.

If awarded the contract, the four partners plan to set up a new company in which Telecom Italian will own 45%. Leonardo and CDP will have 25% and 20% respectively, with Sogei holding the rest.

The public administration will examine the proposal within three months and, if assessed positively, it will launch a tender open to all to award the contract.

Telecom Italia's board on Thursday prepared a draft proposal for the national cloud hub, two sources close to the matter said.

(Corrects paragraphs one and three to say that Telecom Italia leads the group and that CDP is a member of the group)

(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)