Interview with Roberto Padulo, CEO of Dimensione and founder of the Samnium Innovation Hub, on a project that brings together 10 Gigabit connectivity, abandoned buildings, distributed coworking spaces and new communities
Molise does not only exist: it has become the most connected region in Italy. What began almost by chance in 2007, with the aim of connecting a small village, has turned Dimensione into a national player, now taking on the challenge of 10 Gigabit connectivity and looking towards the aerospace sector. We spoke to Roberto Padulo, CEO of Dimensione and founder of the Samnium Innovation Hub, about how cutting-edge technological infrastructure is transforming Italy’s inland areas into a model of urban, cultural and social regeneration.
Dimensione has achieved the feat of making Molise the most connected region in Italy. How did you get there?
It all began with my personal story: my father is from Molise and I spent the first 15 years of my life here. In 2005, I returned to Molise, to Jelsi, for the bicentenary of the Wheat Festival. Because I had a background in networking and IT, some friends pointed out the total lack of connectivity in the area. So, in 2007, I switched on the first radio link from the top of a hill: it covered Jelsi and the rooftops of ten friends’ homes. Shortly afterwards, a request came from the Mayor. In 2011, Dimensione Srl was officially founded.
The real turning point was the Covid period, during which we doubled our turnover. And thanks to our partnership with Open Fiber, Molise became the most connected region in Italy, while we made the leap to national level.
Since no town in Molise had been included in Open Fiber’s initial 10 Gigabit project, we decided to invest €12 million of our own money to equip every single municipality in the region with 10 Gigabit technology. Today, the region has become a beacon for digital nomads, who find an extremely high quality of life here, alongside a low cost of living. Although road infrastructure is lacking, professionals know they can rely on the fastest digital motorway in Italy. And we are not stopping here: the next challenge is 50 Gigabit technology, and we are working with the University of Molise to create the most connected university in Italy.
Alongside widespread connectivity, you have invested heavily in the region, leading to the creation of the Samnium Innovation Hub in Campobasso. What role does this facility play?
In Campobasso, we have created a 2,000-square-metre Innovation Hub. It is a fertile environment designed to stimulate relationships between the public and private sectors, encourage the cross-pollination of ideas and develop new initiatives. The facility has been active for two years and has also become a point of reference for local politics, which uses it to convey information about the area. We offer advanced training courses, making our spaces and our specialised, innovative expertise available — expertise that is often not present even within public administration organisational structures. We are also supporting the enhancement of the territory through investments in archaeological sites, such as the excavations at Pietrabbondante, as well as museums and restoration projects.
Building on this 10 Gigabit network, you are launching a revolutionary concept: the distributed hub. What is it, and which villages will be involved?
The aim is to transform the idea of a single central hub into a genuine distributed hub across the territory.
We asked ourselves: why not use abandoned or closed buildings, offering connectivity and furnishings free of charge? Micro-coworking and co-living are concrete responses to the depopulation of inland areas.
Over the next two months, we will inaugurate the first ten or so of these mini hubs in the municipalities of Mirabello Sannitico, Agnone, Salcito, Pietracupa, Casacalenda, Jelsi, Macchia Valfortore, Petrella Tifernina, Lucito and Bojano. As municipalities make buildings available to us, we will move quickly to fit them out. The final goal is to cover all 136 municipalities in Molise. We know that many young people have already moved back here, but we want to attract more. Radical regeneration is achieved through people, by offering them spaces for gathering and social life — not only smart working.
Is this ecosystem also attracting professionals and managers who had previously left the region?
It is an extraordinary phenomenon. Many professionals and managers who have built their careers outside Molise are discovering the existence of this hub and are asking us to develop projects together, generously making their skills available. We organise conferences and workshops to build networks. This shows that when the right conditions are created, the return of talent and the sharing of knowledge become spontaneous processes. Technology shortens distances and restores value to communities of origin.
Dimensione is undergoing a major evolution, expanding into advanced sensor technology and the aerospace sector. What projects are in the pipeline?
We are expanding into aerospace because the goal is to transform Dimensione into a multi-utility capable of offering connectivity packages combined with highly specialised services. With this in mind, we are acquiring three companies: one specialising in sensor technology at national and international level, and two connected to the aerospace sector. We create advanced sensors for the anti-seismic monitoring of landslides, tunnels and industrial plants. These services will soon be supported by software that draws data directly from satellites.
We will be able to monitor anything on the territory with millimetric precision: illegal dumps, fires, erosion affecting rivers and lakes, the advance of desertification, and the complete mapping of water sources.
For the first time in the world, we have signed a protocol with ASI, the Italian Space Agency, and submitted an expression of interest to MIMIT for the IPCEI, Important Projects of Common European Interest, to create an artificial intelligence-based data centre in the Termoli area. This facility will be the beating heart of the project to create the Digital Twin of the whole of Italy: a fundamental tool for monitoring all the country’s critical infrastructure in real time.
In such a highly technological context, how can the historic slowness of Molise’s physical infrastructure be reconciled with the speed of your network?
The fact that there is no good road infrastructure should not necessarily be seen as a limitation. I see Molise like Tuscany: you come to live in a beautiful village, connectivity becomes the driver that allows you to work with the world, and if you have to travel physically at 40 kilometres per hour, so be it. It allows you to admire the beauty of the places around you. We are seeing an incredible flow of tourists and new residents from Northern Europe; many Dutch, French, English and German people are buying farmhouses nearby, repopulating our areas and frequenting restaurants, agritourism businesses and camper van sites. It shows that physical slowness, when supported by ultra-fast connectivity, can become a luxury and an exceptional strength. It is a metaphor for our vision: virtual networks that foster real relationships, connections that bring people closer together and create new social and professional ties.
Cover image: Photo by Lorenzo Lamonica on Unsplash
