Vodafone Italia, Fastweb and Wind issued a joint statement after Telecom Italia announced plans to suspend the proposed spin-off of its fixed network into a new, independent company. The incumbent's main rivals said they were surprised by Telecom's announcement that the spin-off plans were put on hold due to regulator Agcom's recent decision to lower LLU prices. They said Agcom acted properly in lowering the prices, providing the first step in years to counteract Telecom's dominance of the market, where it still enjoys one of the highest market shares and margins in Europe. The operators concluded that the proposal to spin-off the fixed network may have been a ploy to put undue pressure on the regulator in its decision on wholesale pricing, rather than any real industrial strategy aimed at reviving the market.
