SIP, La Societa Italiana per 1’Esercizio delle Telecomunicazioni pA, has initiated what looks like an offensive to thwart any attempts by the Italian government to tamper with its mobile telephone services monopoly, which is due to expire in 2004. It has introduced three models of what it calls the third generation of analogue portable phones, manufactured by NEC Corp, Nokia Data and Motorola Inc. These phones, says SIP, are not available anywhere else in Europe. Also, it announced that the national mobile phone network will be expanded to cover 80% of the resident population and that it will have new features, including call waiting, call forwarding and outgoing call disabling. At the end of 1991, says SIP, the Italian mobile phone network served almost 570,000 subscribers. That number, according to the company’s calculations, puts Italy in the top spot in Europe for the rate of growth in subscribers, third for the absolute number of subscribers and third for the penetration of the services, with about 10 subscribers for every 1,000 residents. The remarks of SIP’S head administrator, Vito Gamberale, underlined the rationale for bringing the new cellular phones to the Italian market. The society has demonstrated, in being able to realise, in the short term, and with a quality of service among the best on the international market, a mobile phone network that doesn’t shrink from comparisons, and that the clientele appreciates also for its costs, which are the most inclusive in Europe, he said.
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