Vodafone Italy

Last updated

Vodafone Italia S.p.A.
FormerlyOmnitel Pronto Italia S.p.A. (1994-2002)
Vodafone Omnitel S.p.A. (2002-2002)
Vodafone Omnitel N.V. (2002-2013)
Vodafone Omnitel B.V. (2013-2015)
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Telecommunications
FoundedJanuary 1994;30 years ago (1994-01)
Founder
Headquarters
Ivrea and Milan
,
Italy
Area served
Italy
Key people
Products Mobile and fixed telephony, XDSL, FTTX and FWA communications, Internet
Revenue6,209,000,000 Euro (2017)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
348,000,000 Euro (2017)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Owner Vodafone Europe (100%)
Number of employees
6,768 (2017)  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
Parent Vodafone Group (in the process of being acquired by Swisscom; closing expected in the first quarter of 2025)
Subsidiaries Vodafone Enabler Italia (100%)
Website www.vodafone.it

Vodafone Italy is the Italian subsidiary of the UK-based telecommunications company Vodafone Group. The company's headquarters are in Ivrea (TO) and Milan.

Contents

It has 30,153,000 mobile phone customers and 3,182,000 fixed phone lines, with respectively a market share of 28.5% and 16%. [1] [2]

Since taking over the company, Vodafone has introduced in Italy services like Vodafone live!, the 3G, 4G and 5G mobile networks, DSL, fiber-optic and FWA services, and Mobile Virtual Network Operators for other corporations.

Vodafone's main competitors are FASTWEB, Iliad, TIM and Wind Tre. [2]

History

In December 1995, Omnitel Sistemi Radiocellulari Italiani (founded on June 19, 1990, by Olivetti, Lehman Brothers, Bell Atlantic and Telia) and Pronto Italia (made up of Zignago Vetro, AirTouch, Mannesmann, Banca di Roma, Arca merchant, Comeba, Ersel, Erg, Urmet TLC, Spal TLC, Site, Ponti Radio and Fergia [3] [4] ) merged into Omnitel Pronto Italia, [5] which launched a mobile telephony service, the second in Italy after TIM (formerly SIP). [6] Olivetti, the original majority shareholder, through Omnitel and Infostrada (which dealt instead with fixed telephony), thus competed with Telecom Italia, which until then monopolized the entire telecommunications sector in Italy.

In 1999, Olivetti sold its interest in Omnitel and Infostrada to the German consortium Mannesmann, after Olivetti took control of Telecom Italia. By this time, Mannesmann had a majority stake in Omnitel with a 53.7% equity stake. The following year, Vodafone merged with Mannesmann thereby taking control of Omnitel. The merger led in 2001 to the change of company name to Omnitel Vodafone, and in 2002 to Vodafone Omnitel, and in the same year the registered office was transferred from Ivrea (TO) to Amsterdam, thus passing from being a società per azioni (S.p.A.) legally registered in Italy to a naamloze vennootschap (N.V.) legally registered in the Netherlands

In 2004, the company launched UMTS services in 140 cities. Two years later, it lso launched HSPA services.

In 2007, Vodafone bought the Italian and Spanish branches of Tele2. [7]

Following the acquisition of Tele2 Italia (in 2010 renamed TeleTu), in 2008, Vodafone launched in Italy XDSL services, offering Wi-Fi and VoIP to its customers, and between 2013 and 2014, launched also FTTX services.

In 2012 has enabled LTE technology services in Milan and Rome.

On 16 December 2013, following Verizon's sale of the entire share capital held in the company to Vodafone, it was transformed into a besloten vennootschap (B.V.) [8]

Between 2014 and 2015, started enabling LTE-A and VoLTE services to its mobile customers, and in 2017 launched LTE-A Pro services in Milan, Palermo and Florence.

On 23 November 2015, the company moved its legal residence in Turin, returning to be a joint-stock company legally registered in Italy. [9]

On 23 January 2017, Vodafone launched the brand ho-mobile, to provide low-cost mobile telephony services in competition with Iliad. [10]

In 2019 launched 5G NR services in Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples and Bologna. Its GigaNetwork 5G is considered the evolution of the previous GigaNetwork 4.5G, which has been re-used to launch the 5G service.

In 2021 the company shuts down its 3G network, in order to enhance the 4G and 5G ones.

On 15 March 2024, Swisscom purchases 100% of Vodafone Italy for 8 billion euros, thus merging it with its subsidiary FASTWEB. As part of the agreement, Vodafone will continue to provide certain services, such as branding, to FASTWEB for up to 5 years. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

Brand identity

Evolution of the company brand and logo: [17]

Network and coverage

Mobile network

As of March 31, 2022 Vodafone Italy's mobile network is made from 21,785 physical sites, including:

The national mobile network covers:

NetworkFull SpeedCoverageSystemUpdate
Download ↓Upload ↑CitiesPopulation (%)TechnologyFrequencies used
2G 474 kbit/s99.8% GSM / GPRS / EDGE 900 MHzMarch 2022
4G 150 Mbit/s50 Mbit/s7,62799.0% LTE 700/800/900/1500/
1800/2100/2600 MHz
225 Mbit/s4,000 LTE-A/LTE-A Pro March 2020
5G 1.8 Gbit/s75 Mbit/s60 NR 2100/3700 MHzMarch 2022

International roaming

Vodafone Italy has signed international roaming agreements with 731 operators in 241 countries.[ citation needed ] As of June 30, 2016, about 150 of these operators in 100 countries allow customers to reach 4G LTE coverage.[ citation needed ]


Fixed network

Vodafone Italy's fixed network includes 1,254 sites ULL, 326 sites SLU and 19,000 ONU (cabinet) in fiber-optic (FTTC).[ citation needed ]

TechnologyFull SpeedCoverageTypologyUpdate
Download ↓Upload ↑
ADSL 20 Mbit/s1 Mbit/s WLR
ADSL2+ 52% of the population ULL
FTTC
(VDSL2)
100 Mbit/s20 Mbit/s102 cities VULA November 2018
FTTC
(E-VDSL)
200 Mbit/s2,328 cities SLU May 2019
FTTH 2.5 Gbit/s500 Mbit/s130 cities (on Open Fiber's network) GPON May 2021

Customers

Mobile telephony

Decrease2.svg 18.17 million mobile lines (for a market share of 23.3%) [2]

Decrease2.svg 14.69 million consumer mobile lines (21.6%) and Decrease2.svg 3.43 million business mobile lines (34.4%)
Decrease2.svg 15.43 million prepaid mobile lines (22.3%) and Increase2.svg 2.71 million subscription mobile lines (30.7%)

Fixed telephony

Increase2.svg 3.18 million of total fixed lines (for a market share of 16%) [2]

Decrease2.svg 447.400 fixed broadband lines (for a market share of 10.1%)
Increase2.svg 2.60 million fixed ultra-broadband lines (for a market share of 18%)

M2M

Increase2.svg 11.98 million SIM (of which 47% is used in applications of info-mobility and Smart card) [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eir (telecommunications)</span> Irish telecommunication company

Eircom Limited, trading as Eir, is a large fixed, mobile and broadband telecommunications company in Ireland. The company, which is currently incorporated in Jersey, traces its origins to the Ireland's former state-owned monopoly telecommunication provider Telecom Éireann and its predecessors, P&T and before the foundation of the state, the telecommunications division of the GPO. It remains the largest telecommunications operator in Ireland and has overseas operations focused on the business and corporate telecom markets in the United Kingdom. The company was in majority state ownership until 1999, when it was privatised through a floatation on the Irish and New York Stock Exchanges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vodafone</span> British multinational telecommunications company

Vodafone Group Plc is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swisscom</span> Swiss telecommunication company

Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Its headquarters are located in Worblaufen near Bern. The Swiss government owns 51% of Swisscom. According to its own published data, Swisscom holds a market share of 56% for mobile, 50% for broadband and 37% for TV telecommunication in Switzerland. Its Italian subsidiary, FASTWEB, is attributed 16% of private clients and 29% of the corporate clients share of Italian broadband and is also active in the mobile market.

Vodafone Limited, trading as Vodafone UK, is a British telecommunications company, owned by Vodafone Group, the world's eighth-largest telecommunications company. Vodafone is the third-largest mobile network operator in the United Kingdom, with 18.5 million subscribers as of July 2024, after O2 and EE, followed by Three. The country's first cellular phone call was made on the Vodafone network in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tele2</span> Multinational telecommunications company

Tele2 AB is a provider of mobile and fixed connectivity, telephony, data network services, TV, streaming and global Internet of Things services, amongst others, to consumers and enterprises. It is headquartered in Kista Science City, Stockholm, Sweden. It is a major mobile network operator in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. The company initially founded Tele2 Russia, but later sold all its operations, only leasing the use of its brand name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One NZ</span> Telecommunications company in New Zealand

One New Zealand, is a New Zealand telecommunications company. One NZ is the largest wireless carrier in New Zealand, accounting for 38% of the country's mobile share market in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fastweb (telecommunications company)</span> Italian telecommunications company

FASTWEB S.p.A. is an Italian telecommunications company that provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadband Internet and IPTV services. It is also one of the prominent companies in Italy providing FTTH connections, and is a subsidiary of the Swiss telecommunication company Swisscom AG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wind (Italy)</span> Former Italian telecommunications company

Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A., trading as Wind, was an Italian telecommunications company which offered mobile telephony services and, through Infostrada, also fixed-line telephony services, Internet and IPTV. It was owned by the telecommunications group VimpelCom through their subsidiary Wind Telecom.

Telenor Sverige, is a mobile phone, IPTV and Internet service provider in Sweden, owned by Telenor. Telenor Sverige's network covers 99 percent of the country's population, with telecom infrastructure sharing on 2G, 4G LTE and 5G NR under the Net4Mobility joint venture with Tele2, and on 3G UMTS with 3 Sverige outside Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Lund and Karlskrona, where it has its own 3G masts. Today, Telenor Sweden has over 2.5 million mobile subscribers, approximately 645,000 broadband customers and half a million TV customers. Telenor Sweden has a turnover of approximately SEK 13.1 billion (2015) and has approximately 1,900 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SLTMobitel</span> Sri Lankan telecom company

Sri Lanka Telecom PLC, doing business as SLT-MOBITEL, is the national telecommunications services provider in Sri Lanka and one of the country's largest companies with an annual turnover in excess of Rs 40 billion. The company provides domestic and corporate services which include fixed and wireless telephony, Internet access and IT services to domestic, public and business sector customers. As of 2018 SLT-MOBITEL was Sri Lanka's second largest mobile network operator with over 7.9 million subscribers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3 (company)</span> Global telecommunications brand

Hutchison 3G Enterprises S.A.R.L., trading as 3 (Three) and Hutchison 3G, is the owner of several originally UMTS-based mobile phone networks and broadband Internet providers, which operate in Hong Kong, Macau, Austria, Denmark, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spark New Zealand Mobile</span> UMTS and LTE mobile network run by Spark New Zealand

The XT Network was a brand name for a UMTS and LTE mobile network run by Spark New Zealand . The network was initially built nationwide on WCDMA/UMTS 850 MHz, with 2100 MHz infill in major urban areas. The UMTS network is HSPA+ enabled, with a maximum downlink transmission rate of 21.1 Mbit/s and an uplink rate of 5.2 Mbit/s attainable for capable hardware. HSPA+ has a theoretical maximum of 56 Mbit/s download speed and 22 Mbit/s upload speed. Then under Spark 4G LTE is being built out. The network is not 2G capable, Telecom never operated a public GSM network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monaco Telecom</span> Telecommunications provider in the Principality of Monaco

Monaco Telecom is the primary telecommunications provider in the Principality of Monaco. Established in 1997, the company was formed following the government of Monaco's decision to privatize the previously state-owned Office Monégasque des Téléphones. Monaco Telecom provides various services including internet access and mobile phone services. It is a key entity in facilitating communication within Monaco and connecting the principality to global telecommunications networks. Additionally, the company operates a retail store which functions as a point of service and customer interaction.

3G mobile telephony was relatively slow to be adopted globally. In some instances, 3G networks do not use the same radio frequencies as 2G so mobile operators must build entirely new networks and license entirely new frequencies, especially so to achieve high data transmission rates. Other delays were due to the expenses of upgrading transmission hardware, especially for UMTS, whose deployment required the replacement of most broadcast towers. Due to these issues and difficulties with deployment, many carriers delayed acquisition of these updated capabilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SmarTone</span>

SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Limited (0315.HK), listed in Hong Kong since 1996 and a subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited, is a leading telecommunications provider with operating subsidiaries in Hong Kong, offering voice, multimedia and mobile broadband services, as well as fixed fibre broadband services for both consumer and corporate markets. SmarTone spearheaded 5G development in Hong Kong since May 2020, with the launch of its territory-wide 5G services. SmarTone is also the first in Hong Kong to launch Home 5G Broadband service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airtel India</span> Indian telecommunications company

Airtel India is the second largest provider of mobile telephony and third largest provider of fixed telephony in India, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services. The brand is operated by several subsidiaries of Bharti Airtel, with Bharti Hexacom and Bharti Telemedia providing broadband fixed line services and Bharti Infratel providing telecom passive infrastructure service such as telecom equipment and telecom towers. Currently, Airtel provides 5G, 4G and 4G+ services all over India. Currently offered services include fixed-line broadband, and voice services depending upon the country of operation. Airtel had also rolled out its VoLTE technology across all Indian telecom circles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telecom Italia Mobile</span> Italian telecommunications company

Telecom Italia Mobile S.p.A., commonly known as TIM, is an Italian telecommunications company owned by the TIM Group. Founded as a mobile telephony company in 1995, since 2015 it provides mobile, fixed telephony, and Internet services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3 Hong Kong</span>

3 Hong Kong is a telecommunications and internet service provider operating in Hong Kong by Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, operating under the global Three brand. 3 Hong Kong is the first Three-branded company, leading to the development of other operations in different locations.

References

  1. "Chi Siamo - Vodafone Italia". corporate.vodafone.it. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Osservatorio sulle comunicazioni". www.agcom.it (in Italian). Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  3. "Zignago esce da Pronto Italia, cede ad AirTouch e a Mannesmann". Corriere della Sera. 14 September 1996. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  4. "Pronto Italia stanzia 250 miliardi". Corriere della Sera. 14 January 1994. Archived from the original on 22 June 2015.
  5. "Omnitel nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  6. "640 in rete al servizio del cellulare". Corriere della Sera. 22 December 1995. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015.
  7. "Vodafone to acquire Tele2's businesses in Italy and Spain". vodafone.com. 6 October 2007. Archived from the original on 8 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  8. "Vodafone Omnitel cambia ragione sociale". cellularitalia.com (in Italian). December 2013. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  9. "Vodafone Informa". www.vodafone.it (in Italian). Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  10. Filippo Vendrame (31 January 2018). "Vodafone, il suo operatore virtuale è pronto". WebNews. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  11. Times, The Swiss (28 February 2024). "Swisscom Want to Buy Vodafone & Merge it With Fastweb". The Swiss Times. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  12. Doran, Neal; Purnell2024-02-28T13:34:00, Joseph. "Vodafone lines up Italy escape, taking €8bn in Fastweb cash". TelcoTitans.com. Retrieved 15 March 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. Sharma, Ray. "Swisscom to Acquire Vodafone Italia from Vodafone Group, to Merge with Fastweb". www.thefastmode.com. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  14. "Swisscom buys Vodafone Italia in $8.7 billion deal". Yahoo Finance. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  15. "Swisscom to Buy Vodafone's Italian Business for €8 Billion". Bloomberg.com. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  16. Lead, Telecom (15 March 2024). "Swisscom Announces EUR 8 Billion Acquisition Deal with Vodafone Italia". TelecomLead. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  17. "La nostra storia - Vodafone Italia". corporate.vodafone.it. Retrieved 17 May 2013.