Iliad and WindTre will each hold a 50% stake in the new entity, which has been dubbed Zefiro Net
Italian operators Iliad and WindTre have finalized their joint venture, called Zefiro Net, aimed at reducing the country’s digital divide in Italy. Per the deal, the pair will share the cost and management of mobile networks in the country’s rural areas.
The joint entity, of which each operator will hold a 50% stake, will offer mobile services like 5G and ultra-fast broadband to approximately 26.8% of the Italian population.
Early reports from Italy’s Mondo Mobile Web indicated that the partnership was first being discussed in March 2022. Around that time, WindTre said it would transfer 7,000 rural mobile towers and around 50 employees to Zefiro. The following summer, Italy’s Communications Regulatory Authority — Autorita per le Garanzie nelle Comunicazioni, Agcom— gave Iliad and WindTre the go-ahead, commenting that the joint venture would benefit rural customers and encourage other providers to take more interest in underserved areas.
Separately, both companies are marching towards their 5G deployment goals, with WindTre claiming to cover 95.9% with 5G and announcing in July 2022 that it selected Ericsson for its 5G Standalone deployment. The Swedish vendor will provide a container-based, dual-mode 5G core and provided end-to-end support services with Ericsson network orchestration and automation that will enable the carrier to introduce network slicing and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) services.
Iliad kicked off 5G service in Italy at the end of 2020 with an initial deployment in 27 cities, including Milan and Rome. Last November — less than two years after its launch — the operator claimed that its 5G network is available in more than 3,000 Italian cities.
