Telecom Italia IPTV numbers growing

When someone talks about IPTV growth in Italy, he or she is usually talking about FastWeb, the Italian service provider that has offered TV services for about six years. But these days, the IPTV player in Italy starting more conversations might be Telecom Italia. The incumbent telco has been going through restructuring, but its IPTV offering has become increasingly popular. Telecom Italia reported that it added 80,000 IPTV customers during the first half of 2008, giving it a total of 180,000 subscribers.

Telecom Italia's goal is 300,000 subscribers by the end of this year, and while it is on pace to reach fewer--260,000--it is getting close to catching FastWeb. Light Reading reports that FastWeb, which is now owned by Swisscom, is believed to have around 230,000 IPTV subscribers, though FastWeb currently is not separating IPTV adds from its overall broadband numbers. Tiscali and Wind Telecommunications are the other two IPTV upstarts making the Italian market interesting right now.

For more:
- check out this coverage at Light Reading Europe

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