Wind (Italy)

Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A., more commonly known as Wind, was an Italian telecommunications company of the VimpelCom Ltd. group,[2] which offered mobile telephony services and, through Infostrada, also fixed-line telephony services, Internet and IPTV.

Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A.
TypeS.p.A.
IndustryTelecommunications
Founded1 December 1997 (1997-12-01) in Rome, Italy
Founder
DefunctDecember 31, 2016 (2016-12-31) (as company)
March 16, 2020 (2020-03-16) (as brand)
FateMerged with 3 Italy into Wind Tre
SuccessorWind Tre
Headquarters
Rho and Rome
,
Italy
Area served
Italy
Key people
Maximo Ibarra (CEO)[1]
ProductsMobile telephony, fixed-line telephony, Broadband Internet, IT Services, IPTV
Revenue4,633,000,000 euro (2014) Edit this on Wikidata
−709,000,000 euro (2014) Edit this on Wikidata
OwnerWind Telecom (99.996%)
ParentVimpelCom
SubsidiariesInfostrada (100%)
Websitewww.wind.it

It was founded on 1 December 1997 by Enel, France Télécom and Deutsche Telekom, and then passed in 2005 under the control of Weather Investments, which in 2011 will become part of the VimpelCom group.[3]

On 31 December 2016, the merger between 3 Italy and Wind into Wind Tre was completed. This merger project, carried out by CK Hutchison Holdings and VimpelCom, envisaged the creation of an equal joint venture to combine telephony services in Italy.[4][5] However, the Wind brand remained active until 16 March 2020, when it was replaced by the single WINDTRE brand.[6]

Wind had 21.6 million mobile customers with a market share of 22.9% (placing itself behind TIM and Vodafone) and 2.8 million customers on fixed-lines with a market share of 13.2% (that makes it the second largest fixed line operator, behind Telecom Italia). The company served through a network of 159 owned stores and around 498 exclusive franchised outlets under the Wind brand, as well as 396 electronic chain stores.[7]

History

Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. was established on 1 December 1997 by Enel, France Télécom and Deutsche Telekom, which sold Wind in 2005 to Weather Investments.[3][8]

In 1999 Olivetti sells Infostrada to Mannesmann and in 2001 it will become the property of Enel, which will incorporate it in 2002 into Wind.[3]

In 2006 the group appointed Khaled Bichara as the chief operating officer of the company.

In 2011 Wind became part of VimpelCom group, after a merger between the Russian company and the Egyptian Orascom Telecom: the newborn group appointed Khaled Bichara Chairman of Wind and Ossama Bessada CEO, after Luigi Gubitosi's exit.[2]

Wind was the third mobile operator to join the Italian market, after Telecom Italia Mobile (TIM) and Vodafone (formerly Omnitel).

Wind had run a GSM (900/1800/E900), GPRS, EDGE, UMTS (videocall and mobile broadband), HSPA and LTE network. While the GSM/GPRS/EDGE network is available almost everywhere, UMTS, HSPA and LTE are still expanding in the country. Wind has been also the exclusive provider for Italy of i-mode.

In April 2013, Wind announced it would be investing $1.3 billion on building a fourth-generation (4G) mobile broadband network to catch-up with its rivals TIM and Vodafone.[9]

During 2015 and 2016, an agreement was stipulated between CK Hutchison Holdings, owner of 3 Italy, and VimpelCom for the creation of an equal joint venture in Italy.[4]

On December 31, 2016, Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. was merged with H3G S.p.A. into Wind Tre S.p.A.[5]

Despite the merger, the Wind and Infostrada brands continued to operate independently of the 3 Italy brand in the private sector.

On May 23, 2017 Wind Business was merged with 3 Business, giving life to Wind Tre Business, which combines all the services dedicated to VAT-registered customers and companies.[10]

On March 16, 2020, after the merger of the Wind-3 mobile networks completed at the end of 2019, the company carried out a rebranding, replacing the old Wind and 3 Italy brands with the new WINDTRE single brand, both for mobile telephony and for fixed-line telephony.[6]

Awards

In 2009, it launched a project named 10decimi which was meant to facilitate the communication between donors and the charities they support.[11] The venture won them the "Lombard Elite – The Milan Finance Company" award for their dedication to corporate social responsibility.[12]

In 2015, it was awarded the title of telecommunications operator of the Year in Italy.[13]

Sponsorship

Wind was the main sponsor of A.S. Roma football club from 2007 to 2013.

Infostrada
Infostrada

Infostrada S.p.A. was the branch of Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A., that dealt with its fixed-line telephony services, XDSL and optical fiber.

It was born in 1996 from an agreement between Olivetti Telemedia and Bell Atlantic, with the aim of competing with Telecom Italia in the fixed telephony sector.[14]

Old Infostrada telephone card

At the end of 1996 the company had 430 employees and closed the first financial year with a turnover of 72 billion lire.[15]

In 1997 Mannesmann took over from the American partner, controlling Infostrada through the Dutch Olivetti Mobile Telephony Services B.V., then OliMan B.V. (50.1% Olivetti, 49.9% Mannesmann),[16] which will also become a shareholder of Omnitel.

In 1998 Infostrada reached an agreement with Ferrovie dello Stato which provides for the acquisition of the right to access the infrastructure of the FS for the laying of telephone cables and the right to use part of the optical fiber cables of the FS network (approximately 1770 km), for 30 years.

In 1999 Olivetti sells Infostrada to Mannesmann and in 2001 it will become the property of Enel, which will incorporate it in 2002 into Wind.[3]

On December 31, 2016, Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. merged into Wind Tre S.p.A., and as also happened for Wind, the brand will still be used by the company until the rebranding in March 2020.

Brands and logos

Wind
  • 1997-2012
    1997-2012
  • 2012-2018
    2012-2018
  • 2018-2020
    2018-2020

Wind Business
  • 2012-2017
    2012-2017

Infostrada
  • 1996-2002
    1996-2002
  • 2002-2006
    2002-2006
  • 2006-2012
    2006-2012
  • 2012-2017
    2012-2017
  • 2017-2020
    2017-2020

Shareholder structure

The Wind group was structured as follows:[2]

 Wind Telecom S.p.A.
 
 
 Wind Acquisition Holdings Finance S.p.A.
99,996%
 
 
 Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A.
100%
 
    
Wind Retail S.r.l.
100%		Wind Acquisition Holdings Finance S.A.
100%		Wind Acquisition Holdings Finance II S.A.
27%		Wind Finance SL S.A.
27%

See also

References
  1. "Our Team". www.windgroup.it. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  2. "Shareholder structure". www.windgroup.it. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
  3. "Our History". www.windgroup.it. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
  4. "Press - Press Releases - Press - Press - Windgroup". www.windgroup.it. Retrieved 2016-11-14.
  5. "Press - Press Releases - Press - Press - Windgroup". www.windgroup.it. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  6. "Nasce WINDTRE, la rete più grande d'Italia". www.windtre.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-03-21.
  7. "Wind Telecomunicazioni SpA: Private Company Information".
  8. "Wind nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-06-04.
  9. Danilo Masoni and Leila Abboud (12 April 2013). "Italy's Wind to invest $1.3 billion in network with Huawei". Reuters.
  10. "Wind Tre Business". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  11. Camera, Maddalena. "Con 10 decimi e Wind la solidarietà diventa interattiva (Italian)", il Giornale [online], 14 December 2009. Accessed 7 July 2015.
  12. "Wind". Accessed 7 July 2015.
  13. "Vimpelcom’s Brands Listed Among World’s Most Valuable,WIND Italy Named Telecommunications Operator of the Year For 2015", Geo TV, 7 July 2015. Accessed 7 July 2015
  14. "Infostrada nell'Enciclopedia Treccani". www.treccani.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2017-06-04.
  15. "Infostrada: l'Olivetti nelle telecomunicazioni su rete fissa". 2012-01-12. Archived from the original on 2012-01-12. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  16. "Bell Atlantic lascia Infostrada". archiviostorico.corriere.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2014-07-24.
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