(Corrects APRIL 13 story to show state's Enel stake 25.5percent, not 30 percent, paragraph 5)
By Stephen Jewkes and Danilo Masoni
MILAN, April 13 (Reuters) - Italy's biggest utility Enel is considering entering the broadbandtelecommunications market, three sources close to the mattersaid on Monday, as the government looks to kick start a 12billion euro ($12.7 billion) plan to roll out fast networksacross the country.
The sources did not disclose a figure, but said it wasunlikely debt-laden Enel would put money into laying fibrecables. It could instead provide lines and cabinets from itsnation-wide power distribution network as well as technology.
"Enel would make its infrastructure available... to helpspeed up the process of digitalisation," one of the sourcessaid, asking not to be named because no decision has yet beenmade.
"Enel could provide its cutting edge digital meteringtechnology," a second source said. Enel is a world leader insmart digital metres which allow customers to monitor andprogramme their power consumption.
Enel, which is 25.5 percent owned by the state, declined tocomment.
Italy's multi-billion euro broadband plan has run intoregulatory and governance problems and after months of talksthere is still no deal on how to proceed between Rome andItaly's largest phone network Telecom Italia.
Disagreements have raised the possibility that TelecomItalia and Metroweb, a fibre optic network provider partly ownedby the state, could end up building rival networks, duplicatingcosts and slowing down roll out.
Enel entering the ring could potentially be a threat forTelecom Italia especially if rivals such as Vodafone andbroadband provider Fastweb joined the project.
Vodafone declined to comment.
(Additional reporting by Paul Sandle in London; editing bySusan Thomas)