Over in Italy, one of the less secret M&A negotiations is underway. According to Capacity, TIM has confirmed that its CEO Luigi Gubitosi met yesterday with Open Fiber CEO Elisabetta Ripa to talk about a merger. Prior to taking the helm at Open Fiber Ripa previously led TIM's internationa division, Sparkle, while Gubitosi took over as CEO at TIM just 3 months ago after leaving Alitalia. TIM, the Italian government, and the company's big shareholders have been engaged in a struggle over a network separation plan. And late last week Zayo picked up an ultra low latency deal. An unnamed high frequency trading firm is using the company's dark fiber and wavelengths in the NY/NJ financial corridor. The deal leverages fiber acquired in the Spread Networks deal, which built out its network specifically for such applications.