ROME- Italy's government will seek to ensure competition in the telecoms sector, boost investment in new technologies and guarantee fair access to operators, Innovation Minister Vittorio Colao said on the sidelines of a visit to Brussels.

"The European Commission has always stressed that vertically integrated operators are not seen as pro-competitive and we will obviously take this into account," Colao said.

Colao's comments come days after U.S. fund KKR made an approach for Telecom Italia, Italy's biggest phone group, prompting speculation about the future of the company's network, its biggest asset.

(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte, writing by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Giulia Segreti) ((agnieszka.flak@thomsonreuters.com; +39 06 8030 7754;))