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XIII. ITALY 



HISTORY AND PRESENT POSITION 



THE Italian telephone system is worked entirely by concessionary 

 firms or companies under the regulations imposed by rhe law of 

 April 7, 1892. This law reserves absolute power to the State to 

 forbid the erection of even private wires, unless confined entirely 

 to the property of the constructors, without its formal sanction, 

 and empowers it to exact an annual payment of i6s. for each 

 private wire, and 4^. for each instrument in excess of two used in 

 connection with it, besides an extra charge if such a private line 

 should exceed three kilometers in length. 



With regard to exchange communication, the State reserves right 

 to work exchanges itself, and to grant more than one concession for 

 the same town or district should it deem such a course desirable. 

 The maximum term for any concession is twenty- five years, but the 

 State may purchase the system after twelve years on giving one year's 

 notice. In such a contingency the price, failing mutual agreement, 

 is to be fixed, without right of appeal, by three arbitrators, named 

 respectively by the Government, the concessionary, and the presi- 

 dent of the court by which such a dispute would ordinarily fall 

 to be tried. But in any case the price is not to exceed the mean 

 of the last three years' profits multiplied by the unexpired years 

 of the concession. Profits are defined as meaning the gross 

 receipts less the ordinary working expenses and Government 

 taxes. Should the Government not purchase at the end of twelve 

 years, the concessionary will retain possession for the whole term 

 of twenty-five years ; but on the expiry of that period the system 

 becomes the property of the State without any payment whatever. 



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