Fastweb’s Mobile Push Breaks Italy Telecom’s Consolidation Dream
- Swisscom’s Italian unit won a mobile license from ministry
- The company will become the country’s fifth mobile carrier
A pedestrian walks past a Fastweb store in Rome, Italy.
Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg
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Swisscom AG’s Italian unit Fastweb is becoming the fifth wireless carrier in an industry that had aimed to reduce the number of mobile phone players in a bid to fight shrinking revenue.
Italy’s Development Ministry awarded Fastweb the license last week, a company representative said. Fastweb, which offers high-speed internet services to consumers and businesses wants to attract more lucrative subscribers from rivals such as Telecom Italia SpA and Vodafone Group Plc in one of the world’s most competitive mobile markets.