Iliad to collaborate with Open Fiber in Italy

Iliad to collaborate with Open Fiber in Italy

Several companies are collaborating to take advantage of some markets in order to widen their business scope. This is certainly the case with the Italian connectivity market, which has inspired new interest amid the lockdown.

Iliad stormed its way into the Italian market by having a partnership with Open Fiber. “The collaboration with Iliad, which chose Open Fiber for its entry into the fixed market, is further confirmation of the validity of the neutral Open Fiber model,” said Elisabetta Ripa, CEO of Open Fiber.

Therefore, the French provider of telecoms services struck a deal with Open Fiber, an Italian telecommunications company, giving Iliad access to Open Fiber’s infrastructure, or FTTH (Fiber to the x) network, to provide connectivity to 271 Italian cities by 2022.

Open Fiber had more than 8 million homes subscribe to an FTTH service, at the end of last year.

Iliad came to Italy as a mobile operator two years ago gaining over 5.5 million customers, yet it has since, been looking to establish its fixed-line access.

This extensive broadband agreement between the two companies, aims to reach a convergence, but how does it work? To sell an additional product or service to an existing customer rather than purchasing new customers in a single product line, which means a less expensive, more efficient process.

“Growing demand for fixed connectivity over the few past months has driven us to accelerate toward our debut in the fixed segment and the agreement with Open Fiber is the first step in that direction”, said Benedetto Levi, CEO of Iliad’s Italian operations, in a statement.

“Iliad has brought transparency, simplicity and clarity to the world of telephony by building a solid and trusting relationship with its users,” said Levi.

In addition, convergence produces something to meet individual requirements along with a customer service that can be more effective and efficient. Thus, the advantages that convergence gives increases customer loyalty and adds more importance to service providers.

Sky Italia announced a few days ago that it would offer broadband services to customers in 120 towns and cities, expanding its broadband mark in the Italian market.

With the Italian government advising Open Fiber to work with TIM (Telecom Italia) to generate a single network, the Italian telecommunication company continues to be a crucially important player in the industry. This factor increases pressure on TIM, which is lagging behind in an increasingly competitive Italian market.

Thus, convergence is a big step towards enhancing business but it is part of a long-term strategic plan that takes time to implement.