In a landscape where revenues have plummeted by a third since 2010 and intense price wars have eroded profitability, Italian telecom operators are being forced into unprecedented collaborations to survive the costly transition to next-generation technology. Responding to these severe financial pressures, Telecom Italia (TIM) and Swisscom’s Italian unit, Fastweb, are finalizing a landmark network-sharing agreement aimed squarely at mitigating the steep costs associated with deploying and operating standalone 5G networks. This strategic initiative, internally codenamed “Prism,” represents a critical move to rationalize investments and foster operational efficiencies in a sector struggling to generate adequate returns. The collaboration underscores a growing acknowledgment that individual infrastructure build-outs are becoming financially unsustainable, pushing former rivals toward a shared-cost model to ensure long-term viability and accelerate the nationwide availability of advanced 5G services for consumers and businesses alike, which is a key goal for the national digital agenda.
Strategic Framework of the Partnership
The foundation of this agreement rests on the mutual sharing of active network components, a sophisticated arrangement that goes beyond simple passive infrastructure like towers. The pact specifically targets the sharing of antennas and base stations, the very hardware responsible for transmitting and receiving 5G signals, in a move designed to maximize resource utilization. This collaborative effort will be concentrated primarily in less densely populated areas, specifically in towns with fewer than 35,000 residents, where the return on investment for individual network rollouts is often prohibitively low. To prevent redundant capital expenditure, the plan delegates responsibility, with each operator exclusively upgrading the technology in designated geographic zones. Crucially, the deal is also set to include spectrum sharing, allowing both companies to more efficiently utilize their licensed airwaves. The projected financial benefits are substantial, with estimates suggesting that each company could achieve savings of as much as 250 to 300 million euros over ten years.
Implications for the Italian Telecom Market
The operational execution of this partnership culminated in a plan to establish a dedicated joint venture. This new entity was tasked with managing a combined grid that was projected to encompass 15,500 sites by the end of 2028, creating one of the most extensive shared 5G infrastructures in the region and setting a new precedent for cooperative deployment in the country. With the final agreement slated for completion by early March, the move by TIM and Fastweb was not an isolated event but rather an emblem of a sweeping industry-wide trend. Telecom operators across Europe increasingly viewed infrastructure sharing as an essential strategy for survival and growth in highly competitive and low-margin environments. This collaboration highlighted how even the most entrenched competitors recognized that pooling resources was the most viable path forward to navigate economic headwinds and deliver on the promise of a fully connected 5G future for the entire nation.
