Strategic review of the Italian telecoms sector

The problem

The national collective employment contract for the Italian telecoms sector was due for renewal. The Italian telecoms industry association (ASSTEL) decided to establish an annual forum with companies and unions to seek a common view of the status of the telecoms sector in Italy. The forum’s objective was to share likely market development, considering both international trends and the specific nature of the Italian market, and to agree on policy guidelines and actions for revitalising the sector.

The solution

ASSTEL commissioned Analysys Mason to conduct a strategic review of the Italian telecoms sector, with a three-year mandate starting in 2010. Each year we produced a report that:

• analysed the international context globally and across the EU5, highlighting relevant technological and market trends
• provided a detailed market overview of the entire telecoms value chain (including infrastructure operators, equipment and device manufacturers, and call-centre and CRM-solution providers) elaborating on KPIs collected from ASSTEL members
• compared the historical performance of the Italian market with that of EU5 markets
• analysed the labour market across the Italian telecoms value chain
• investigated the reasons for the low take-up of broadband in Italy compared with other EU5 countries, analysing both the demand and the supply side in the context of NGA deployment and the Digital Agenda objectives
• discussed the role of over-the-top players in the converged all-IP telecoms market and their economic impact on the telecoms value chain.

Each report outlined a set of recommendations on how to develop the sector and address the critical points arising from the analyses.

The result

Our reports have supported industry relations and were ASSTEL’s first detailed strategic review of the status of the Italian telecoms market. During the annual forums, Analysys Mason presented the reports to a large institutional audience, including unions, operators, the press, several ministers and the national regulatory authority. The analysis was welcomed by forum members and was the basis of a fruitful discussion among the participants on a shared set of actions to spark the revitalisation of the sector.

ASSTEL has published the results of the forum in several press releases and the executive summaries of the first two editions of the report (in Italian) are available on ASSTEL's website.

You can also download the executive summary of our first report on the Italian telecoms sector (in English).

The team

The project was conducted by consultants from Analysys Mason’s Milan office, who have significant experience in the issues discussed in the report (broadband, fixed and mobile NGA networks, strategic planning and regulation) both in Italy and internationally.