“I reiterate my commitment to remain at the helm of the Tim group and to ferry it at least until 2022”. Clear and dry words with which the CEO of Telecom Italia, Amos Genish, definitively silences the rumors circulating about his possible exit from the TLC giant during a meeting with the press held today, June 20th.
GENISH: HARD ATTACK ON THE BOD
At the same time, however, Genish launches equally clear and harsh accusations, pointing the finger at some members of "Tim's board of directors who are busy spreading false and unreliable conjectures which undermine and jeopardize the ability to achieve management objectives”. “Members – he added – who should instead understand the mandate entrusted to them by the assembly which is to form an independent and non-executive board with the sole purpose of pursuing the common interests of the company and all shareholders. We would like things to stop as soon as possible, many key shareholders are unhappy. Whoever is behind it must line up, they don't discourage us, nothing intimidates us or prevents us from doing our job ".
We recall that Tim's board meeting last May 4 was two-thirds from Elliott's list and one-third from Vivendi's. However, the participation of the US fund was essentially dissolved due to the sale of large shares to the point that, according to many rumors, Vivendi could regain the majority at a forthcoming shareholders' meeting.
THE NEWS ON THE NET
At the same time, Amos Genish also spoke of the network spin-off project on which the company continues to work: "We will do everything because the network becomes a company that is spun off. In our opinion, Agcom has also seen an improvement in the unbundling of the network from a regulatory point of view”.
The CEO recalled the meeting held between the Communications Authority and the telecommunications company last March 27 in the context of which the project was discussed: “We expect – continued the manager – that within the Authority will let us know its opinion on Netco in the coming weeks. The regulatory framework will also be clarified". Genish also said: “there are new competitors but they are small in scale and with big ambitions”.
GENISH: “OPEN TO OPEN FIBER”
During the meeting with the press, Genish reiterated his openness towards a possible collaboration with Oper Fiber to build the fiber network up to homes (FTTH). “For now, the demand for fiber is limited and for this reason a single player could be better than two,” he explained. “We are open to collaboration with other entities. We will have to see if Open Fiber will also be as open to dialogue as we are ”, she added.
GENISH: ILIAD DOESN'T SCARY US
The entry into the market of Iliad does not worry the CEO of Telecom Italia: "In the coming months we will see what will happen, Iliad's offer is very aggressive but not revolutionary - said Genish - Our strong position protects us, we have a network better, a better value offer and a network of physical stores. We expect a positive second quarter while other competitors are losing market share”. However, Genish underlined the need to respect the Pisanu law which provides for the mandatory identification of the owner of a SIM by means of a valid identity document: “In our opinion Iliad is not compliant with the law. We'll see what the authorities say."
