Iliad is preparing to land on the fixed network market through Open Fiber's FTTH optical fiber. Smart working and online lessons have led the French group Iliad to broaden its field of action, moving from mobile telephony only to fixed ultra-broadband. I am negotiations are already underway with Open Fiber to find an agreement in a short time, but it is not yet possible to estimate the launch period, on the contrary Sky is preparing for its debut.
The current health emergency has underlined the importance of a fast and secure network, reawakening competition from a forgotten market. So Iliad has changed its plans: initially they counted on entering this business by 2024, but the events of recent months have accelerated times and now they count on leaving by the end of the year.
The group led by Xavier Niel, had brought to our country only two years ago the model with reduced prices for mobile telephony, reducing tariffs to the limit of economic sustainability. A move that has led the main rivals, Tim and Vodafone, to create low-cost brands, Kena and Oh.
Today, Iliad's Italian customers in the mobile sector exceed 5 million and revenues are constantly growing. An extraordinary result that made the French group the fourth most used Italian operator.
However, it remains to be seen whether the French group will be able to present the same scheme for the fixed line as well. By relying on OF there will be commissions for each line which will put a limit on the reduced prices. However, looking at the French case, where the fixed line is already active, the offers remain aggressive.
Who knows if by the end of 2020 Iliad will succeed in the enterprise of fixed telephony, from a tweet in recent days of Benedict Levi, at the helm of the company in Italy, it would seem so. “On May 29, 2018 we arrived on the market with our offer, it seems like a moment ago. Just enough time to make a Revolution. And we are ready to make many more”.
But Iliad is not alone in the negotiation, too Sky is approaching fiber optics and will launch its offer on June 16th. And so OF is preparing to fill up with wholesale customers.
