Italian telco Telecom Italia (TIM) has said it won't renew its tower agreement with Italian infrastructure company Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane (Inwit).

The deal would have seen the carrier extend its contract with Inwit through to 2038. However, TIM has instead said it will terminate the contract when it expires in August 2030.

It represents another blow for Inwit, which is still reeling from Fastweb+Vodafone's announcement last week that it also plans to terminate its tower agreement with the company from 2028.

Telecom Italia and Fastweb+Vodafone announced plans to form a tower-focused joint venture in Italy earlier this month. The two telcos confirmed that a non-binding agreement has been signed for the development and management of up to 6,000 new mobile phone towers under the JV.

In its announcement today (March 30), TIM noted a change of control clause exercised in 2022, claiming this allows the carrier to terminate the Master Service Agreement (MSA).

The telco added that the decision is part of its plans to "optimize its infrastructure cost base."

"TIM will enter into negotiations with Inwit to agree on a multi-year migration plan ensuring operational continuity beyond the contract expiry, in compliance with the mutual contractual obligations set forth in the MSA," said the company.

The announcement hasn't gone down well with Inwit, which said TIM's plan to terminate the MSA has "no legal grounds."

Inwit referred to TIM and Fastweb+Vodafone's planned tower JV, noting that such a venture will hinder the rollout of 5G.

"Infrastructure duplication has no industrial, economic, or environmental logic, requires biblical implementation time, and would slow down the much-needed development of 5G," said Inwit.

The infrastructure company accuses TIM of "exerting undue pressure" on Inwit to renegotiate the terms of the MSA.

Inwit also hit back at Fastweb+Vodafone's plan to terminate its contract last week, calling the action "unlawful." The towerco, which currently operates around 26,000 towers in Italy, said the move also "lacks industrial rationale."

Fastweb+Vodafone plans to terminate the MSA at the end of March 2028, as the company claimed that Inwit's tower costs were too high.