18 December 2002     

Telecom Italia's new international business development Company

Telecom Italia today completed the official paperwork for the transfer of its International Wholesale Services going concern from the Domestic Wireline International Business Unit to a wholly-owned Telecom Italia subsidiary previously known as T.M.I. Italia S.p.A. The company, in future to be known as Telecom Italia Sparkle S.p.A., takes over the business from 1 January 2003.

This move reflects a consolidated trend among main TLC companies to equip the management of international services with corporate independence in order to ensure operational flexibility, appropriate skillsets and enhanced rapidity of operation on a market that has been undergoing major changes.

Telecom Italia Sparkle's key assets consist of consolidated commercial experience and technological expertise in global advanced telecommunications services, offered through a far-reaching and extensive international network infrastructure.
Business undertaken by the new company is expected to generate turnover of some 1,600 million euros.

Telecom Italia Sparkle's mission is to develop the international services market for heavy users: wireline and wireless carriers, ISPs and multinationals.
Telecom Italia is undertaking this operation to enhance its competitive position on the international market, particularly in IP and data transmission services.

The company's objectives are to be a top player on the European market, consolidate its voice carriage market leadership and, above all, focus on high value, high growth data and Internet services.

Underpinning this high growth IP and data carriage market strategy are technological assets consisting of an articulated fibre optic network of crossborder backbone which provides coverage to the most attractive geographical markets in Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and South America. These assets place the Telecom Italia Group among the world's top Internet connectivity concerns.

Telecom Italia Sparkle leverages a bilateral worldwide network of some 360,000 km of submarine cables, supplying direct connections between Italy and 220 countries (and around 240 carriers). Over 18,000 km of crossborder network is available in Europe. In 2002 this infrastructure carried over 10 billion minutes of voice traffic and over 15 Gbit/s of IP bandwidth.

“This is the next phase in the process of restructuring Telecom Italia's international portfolio,” says Riccardo Ruggiero, Telecom Italia CEO with responsibility for the Domestic Wireline Business Unit, which is behind Telecom Italia Sparkle. “Following disposals of non-core business, we are now creating more efficient management tools to realize value right through the potential range of Telecom Italia international market operations.”
“The IP and Data market,” adds Stefano Mazzitelli, CEO of Telecom Italia Sparkle, “offers growth potential in the region of 30% annually. This new company has all the drivers it requires – know how, technology assets and financial solidity – to strengthen existing business, focus on high value added markets and play a lead role in this market too.”

TAG: Services