Newly-launched Italian operator Iliad has signed up around 10,000 customers a day in its first month of operation, according to a report from business daily MF Milano Finanza citing data from German investment bank Berenberg. The report indicates that Iliad has registered around 250,000 mobile number portability requests plus between 50,000 and 100,000 requests for new SIM cards since launching on 29 May. It adds that 40 percent of number portability requests have come from existing Wind Tre customers, with 25 percent coming from Vodafone, 20 percent from TIM and the rest from MVNOs including PosteMobile and Fastweb.
Before Iliad’s arrival, TIM, Vodafone and Wind Tre each controlled around a third of the Italian mobile market. All have responded to Iliad’s launch offer of 30GB of 4G data plus unlimited talk and text for EUR 5.99 a month with a series of new plans and discounts, with Vodafone even unveiling a new low-cost brand called Ho. Telecom Italia launched its discount Kena Mobile brand last year but the lack of 4G services has limited its success, said the report.
Another recent study by Standard & Poor's predicted that Iliad will reach its one million customer target within a year but that it won’t “crush its opponents”.
