Telecom Italia

Telecom Italia S.p.A.

Type	Società per azioni
Traded as	BIT: TIT, NYSE: TI
Industry	Telecommunications, media, manufacturing
Founded	1994
Founder(s)	IRI - STET
Headquarters	Rome, Italy (headquarters) Milan, Italy (registered office)
Key people	Franco Bernabè (Chairman and CEO)
Products	Fixed line and mobile telephony, internet, IT services, television broadcasting
Revenue	€27.83 billion (2010)
Operating income	€5.813 billion (2010)
Profit	€3.121 billion (2010)
Total assets	€89.13 billion (end 2010)
Total equity	€32.61 billion (end 2010)
Employees	84,200 (end 2010)
Subsidiaries	Telecom Italia Mobile, Telecom Italia Media (67%), Olivetti
Website	www.telecomitalia.com

Telecom Italia is the largest Italian telecommunications company, also active in the media and manufacturing industries. Now a private concern listed on the Borsa Italiana, it was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most important of which was Società Italiana per l'Esercizio Telefonico p.A. (known as SIP from the earlier Società Idroelettrica Piemontese), the state monopoly telephone operator in Italy.

The company operates landline telephone services in Italy, GSM mobile phone services in Italy and Brazil through its TIM subsidiary, and DSL internet and telephony services under the brand Alice in Italy and San Marino. It also owns a stake in Telecom Argentina. Internationally, Telecom Italia is present in professional telecom services for other operators or corporations through TI Sparkle. Diversified, Telecom Italia also controls one of the main Italian television companies, Telecom Italia Media, and owns Olivetti, the manufacturer of computer peripherals and other hardware.

History

Geographical division of the 5 companies in 1925

The original core of Telecom Italia includes 5 different companies: Stipel, TIMO, Teti, TELVE and SET. Each of them worked in a specific geographical area, as decided in 1925 by the Mussolini Government. It was in 1964 that these companies merged in one single group, under the name of SIP.

Telecom Italia was officially created on 27 July 1994 by the merger of several telecommunication companies among which Sip, Iritel, Italcable, Telespazio and Sirm.This was due to a plan of riorganization of the telecommunication sector presented by IRI to the Minister of Treasury.

In 1995 the mobile telephony division was spun off into TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile). Interbusiness, Italy’s largest Internet network, was created and in the same period with TIN (Telecom Italia Net) and the first ISPs, Internet became a reality in Italy too.

In 1996 TIM was one of the first companies in the world which introduced a new prepaid rechargeable phone card (GSM) and one year later launched the short messaging service (SMS) capability.

In 1997, under the chairmanship of Guido Rossi, Telecom Italia was privatised and was transformed into a large multimedia group.

After the reorganization of editorial activities, in 2005 Telecom Italia acquired Tin.it and Virgilio from Telecom Italia Media, the multimedia company of the Group. Telecom Italia Media, born in 2003 from Seat Pagine Gialle, focused its business on television sector with La7 and MTV channels.

The Telecom Italia Group also operates in South America: in Brazil as TIM Brasil and in Argentina and Paraguay with Telecom Argentina Group.

Telecom Italia registered office, 2 Piazza degli Affari, Milan, Italy

Sustainability

In 2002 Telecom Italia subscribed to the United Nations corporate responsibility initiative Global Compact. The firm continues to promote a sustainability strategy including both environmental and social issues. The company is a member of a number of stock market indexes which include companies focused on corporate social responsibility, including the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes and those administered by FTSE Group's FTSE4Good. Its part-owned Brazilian subsidiary TIM Participações is listed in the Bovespa's ISE (Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial) index.

Open Access and other initiatives in 2008

In February 2008 Telecom Italia created "Open Access", a new feature to manage all development and maintenance activities of the technological infrastructure of the access network; the process of access services provision to the Telecom Italia customers and other operators; and the related technical assistance. All this for better efficiency, quality and equal treatment. Open Access has been the basis for the dialogue between Telecom Italia and the Authority for Communication Guarantees and it has been preceded by the recruitment of voluntary commitments, approved by the Authority in December 2008. These commitments, which see the central role played by Open Access and its new processes to develop the access network of Telecom Italia, are useful to reinforce the competitive environment. In 2008 was also set up the Telecom Italia Foundation, which promotes innovative ideas and projects aimed at improving the living conditions of people.

Financial figures

2010

Telecom Italia Group reached revenues for 27,571 million euro, 11,412 million euro of EBITDA, 3,121 million euro of profit and had capital expenditures for 4,583 million euro. The net financial debt was 32,087 million euros. At December 31, 2010 the headcount was 84,200, 58,045 in Italy only. At the same date the fixed line network physical accesses were about 15.4 millions, the broadband retail accesses in Italy were 7.2 millions, Tim lines 31 millions, TIM Brasil lines 51 millions, mobile lines in Paraguay 1.9 millions, and in Argentina the number of fixed lines were 4.1 millions, the broadband accesses 1.4 millions and mobile lines 16.3 millions. The audience average share of La7 during 2010 was 3,1% and the daily average of single visitors on Virgilio was 3.7 millions.

2011

Telecom Italia Group reached revenues for 29,957 million euro, 12,246 million euro of EBITDA, 4,726 million euro of loss, generated by the impact of the goodwill impaiment charge and other non-recurring items, and had capital expenditures for 6,095 million euro. The net financial debt was 30,414 million euros. At December 31, 2011 the headcount was 84,124, 56,878 in Italy only. At the same date the fixed line network physical accesses were about 14.7 millions, the broadband retail accesses in Italy were 7.1 millions, Tim lines 32.2 millions, TIM Brasil lines 64.1 millions, mobile lines in Paraguay 2.1 millions, and in Argentina the number of fixed lines were 4.1 millions, the broadband accesses 1.5 millions and mobile lines 18.2 millions.

2012 first half

At 30 June 2012 Telecom Italia Group reached revenues for 14,793 million euro, 5,859 million euro of EBITDA, 1,245 million euro of profit and had capital expenditures for 2,269 million euro. The net financial debt was 30,360 million euros. The headcount was 84,889, 56,815 in Italy only. At the same date the fixed line network physical accesses were about 14.3 millions, the broadband retail accesses in Italy were 7 millions, Tim lines 32.2 millions, TIM Brasil lines 68.9 millions, mobile lines in Paraguay 2.2 millions, and in Argentina the number of fixed lines were 4.1 millions, the broadband accesses 1.6 millions and mobile lines 18.7 millions.

Board of Directors

The shareholders’ meeting of April 12, 2011 for three fiscal years appointed the current Board of Directors:

• Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Franco Bernabè
• Deputy Chairman: Aldo Minucci
• Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer: Marco Patuano
• Director: Lucia Calvosa
• Director: Jean Paul Fitoussi
• Director: Renato Pagliaro
• Director: Luigi Zingales
• Director: Gaetano Miccichè
• Director: Mauro Sentinelli
• Director: Gabriele Galateri di Genola
• Director: Massimo Egidi
• Director: Elio Cosimo Catania
• Director: Tarak Ben Ammar
• Director: Izuel Cesareo Alierta
• Director: Julio Esteban Linares Lopez
• Secretary: Antonino Cusimano

See also

• Telecom Italia Tower (Naples)
• STET
• Stream

External links

• Official website
• "Probe Forces Telecom Italia to Delay Results", The Wall Street Journal, (23 March 2010)