Telecom Italia SpA is launching a supercordless enhanced Telepoint telephone that will boost the reception of ordinary domestic cordless phones, enabling users to take their home telephone out and about on long distances. Telecom managing director Francesco Chirichigno said the group was investing $1.2m in the phone, to be called Fido, and estimated it would have 1 million customers by 1998. The technology is similar to that of normal cordless phones, which now work in a range of 200 yards. With the new service it will be possible to take your home phone with you when you go into town, the company said, adding that it did not believe that the new phone would lure customers away from ordinary analog cellular phones, since users tended to upgrade from those to digital technology. Fido will be launched near Christmas in five Italian cities and will be expanded to all major cities in 1997, Telecom promised.
