FASTWEB: Итальянский телекоммуникационный гигант

Italian telecommunications company

FASTWEB S. p. A. is an Italian telecommunications company that provides fixed and mobile telephony, broadband Internet and IPTV services. It is also one of the prominent companies in Italy providing FTTH connections, and is a subsidiary of the Swiss telecommunication company Swisscom AG. In May 2007, Swisscom paid 3 billion euros for 82.4% of FASTWEB. Swisscom subsequently bought out the minority shareholders after making a voluntary tender offer in September 2010. Therefore, FASTWEB has been delisted from Borsa Italiana.

Since its founding FASTWEB has invested over €5 billion in a next generation fiber optic network spanning more than By implementing the Internet Protocol on its alternative fiber optic network, FASTWEB provides a Triple Play Offer of landline, internet and television services, available simultaneously on a single connection, for residential and business clients. In September 2010 and for the first time in Italy, FASTWEB launched a broadband connection up to 100 Mbit/s for residential customers and small enterprises in the cities of Milan, Rome, Genoa, Turin, Bologna, Naples and Bari. In September 2008, FASTWEB became also a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) and launched its mobile voice and data service (Quadruple Play). In July 2019 became the fifth mobile network operator in Italy by obtaining the license to operate on 5G network. Today, business customers account for 60% of the total revenue. On the government market, FASTWEB became the main supplier of fixed network telephone and data services to central public agencies.

FASTWEB was founded in 1999 in Milan by Silvio Scaglia, Francesco Micheli, and Ruggero Gramatica. e. Biscom was founded with the intention of developing a fiber optic network in Italy, and Fastweb was launched as a joint venture with AEM to develop IP services. In March 2000, e. Biscom went public on the Italian New Market Stock Exchange to expand and finance their fiber optic network in major Italian cities. e. Biscom soon became the first operator in the world to use full IP technology and bring fiber optic networks to cities, and launched home telecommunication services. In 2002, fiber optic cabling was completed in Milan, and FASTWEB consolidated its presence in Rome, Genoa, Turin, Naples, and Bologna.

e. Biscom announced a possible merger with Fastweb in early 2004, and the merger was finalized by the end of April. The company took on FASTWEB's name, and focused on its core business, creating broadband telecommunications on the Italian landline network.

By 2006, FASTWEB's broadband network had expanded to cover about 45 percent of Italy's population, and later that year, FASTWEB won both a Consip and a Centro Nazionale per l'Informatica nella Pubblica Amministrazione (CNIPA) tender for the Public Connectivity System (SPC) becoming a supplier to relevant public authorities.

By 2006, FASTWEB was Italy's leading alternative broadband telecommunications provider, boasting over one million customers and an annual revenue of €1.26 billion. In early 2007, FASTWEB was bought by Swisscom, a major Swiss telecommunications provider, to strengthen new technologies and multimedia for Swisscom, while increasing cash flow and revenue. On 15 March 2024, Swisscom purchases 100% of Vodafone Italy for 8 billion euros, thus merging it with FASTWEB. As part of the agreement, Vodafone will continue to provide certain services, such as branding, to FASTWEB for up to 5 years.