ROME (Reuters) – Telecom Italia (TIM) on Tuesday secured 1.6 billion euros ($1.72 billion) from the Italian government in a tender for the rollout of ultra fast broadband, the innovation ministry said. State owned Open Fiber was awarded contracts worth 1.8 billion euros. There were no other bidders. The tenders were part of an EU-funded scheme to help the country’s economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. ($1 = 0.9317 euros) (Reporting by Gavin Jones, editing by Elvira Pollina)