Wind Tre S.p.A., more commonly known as WINDTRE, is an Italian telecommunications company of the CK Hutchison Holdings Limited group,[2] which offers mobile and fixed telephony services.

Wind Tre S.p.A.
Company typeS.p.A.
IndustryTelecommunications
Predecessor
FoundedDecember 31, 2016; 7 years ago (2016-12-31) in Rho, Italy
Founder
Headquarters,
Italy
Area served
Italy
Key people
Jeffrey Hedberg (CEO)[1]
ProductsMobile telephony, fixed telephony, Broadband Internet, IT Services, IPTV
BrandsVery Mobile
Revenue6,182,000,000 Euro (2017) Edit this on Wikidata
−2,620,000,000 Euro (2017) Edit this on Wikidata
OwnerCK Hutchison Holdings (100%)
ParentCK Hutchison Holdings
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.windtre.it

It was born on 31 December 2016 from the merger of two Italian telecommunications companies, namely 3 Italy and Wind, controlled respectively by CK Hutchison Holdings and VimpelCom.[3][4][5]

Since 7 September 2018, CK Hutchison Holdings has been the sole shareholder of Wind Tre as, following approval by the European Commission, the Hong Kong group completed the acquisition of the remaining 50% of the company from VEON (formerly VimpelCom).[6][7][8]

As of 2022, it is the first Italian mobile operator for SIM HUMAN, third instead after TIM and Vodafone in total active cards.[9]

History

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Wind-3 networks unification

On December 31, 2016, the project to create an equal joint venture between CK Hutchison Holdings, owner of 3 Italy, and VimpelCom, owner of Wind, was completed.[10][11] The project envisaged the merger of H3G S.p.A. and Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. into Wind Tre S.p.A.[3]

On 7 September 2018, VEON (formerly VimpelCom) sold its 50% stake in Wind Tre to CK Hutchison Holdings, which thus became the sole shareholder.[8]

Despite the merger, the company kept the Wind, 3 Italy and Infostrada brands active (with the exception of Wind Business and 3 Business which became Wind Tre Business on 23 May 2017[12]) until 16 March 2020,[13][14][15] when the company started a process of rebranding that led to the birth of the unified brands Wind Tre, Wind Tre Business and Very Mobile (born on February 24, 2020, as a Mobile Virtual Network Operator to compete with Iliad, ho-mobile and Kena Mobile[16]).[17][18][19] Very Mobile was the first MVNO to market its offers also on eSIM and to experiment with VoLTE and VoWiFi technologies.[20][21][22][23]

As of August 2022, the company has obtained authorization from AGCOM to start a collaboration with Iliad for 5G sharing in rural areas with low population density. In January 2023, the creation of the Zefiro Net joint venture, jointly controlled by the two companies, was completed.[24]

On February 2, 2024, Wind Tre signed an agreement for the acquisition of the assets, including the network infrastructure, of OpNet (formerly Linkem), which will be acquired 100% by Wind Tre together with all other subsidiaries, excluding Tessellis (formerly Tiscali). On August 1, the transaction was completed.[25]

Brands and logos

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Wind Tre

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Wind Tre Business

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Very Mobile

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Discontinued

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Shareholder structure

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The Wind Tre group is structured as follows:[2]

 CK Hutchison Holdings Limited
 
 
 CK Hutchison Group Telecom Italy Investments S.à r.l.
100%
 
 
 Wind Tre Italia S.p.A.
100%
 
 
 Wind Tre S.p.A.
100%
 
  
Wind Retail S.r.l.
100%
3Lettronica Industriale S.p.A.
100%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Management Team". Wind Tre. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Wind Tre - Board and Shareholder Structure". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Wind Tre is ready, the first mobile operator in Italy. Maximo Ibarra leads the company". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  4. ^ "Wind Tre - Our History". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Fusione Wind-3 Italia, quale futuro per i lavoratori?". nuvola.corriere.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  6. ^ "CK annuncia approvazione commissione europea". www.windtre.it (in Italian). Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  7. ^ "CK Hutchison Holdings Limited - Media Center > Press Releases". www.ckh.com.hk. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  8. ^ a b "CK sole shareholder Wind Tre". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Osservatorio AGCOM: Dati, Quote di Mercato e Novità". Offerta-internet.it (in Italian). 3 May 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  10. ^ "European Commission JV Approval". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  11. ^ "Final Regulatory Approval for Italy Joint Venture". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  12. ^ "Wind Tre Business". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  13. ^ "Wind Tre - Wind". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Wind Tre - Tre". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  15. ^ "Wind Tre - Wind Tre Business". www.windtre.it. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Chi Siamo - L'operatore very conveniente". www.verymobile.it (in Italian). Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Nasce WINDTRE, la rete più grande d'Italia". www.windtre.it (in Italian). Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  18. ^ "Wind Tre - WINDTRE_SINGLE_BRAND_BORN". www.windtregroup.it. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  19. ^ "WINDTRE: tutte le novità del nuovo marchio". WindWorld Blog. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  20. ^ "Anteprima: Very Mobile il nuovo gestore mobile virtuale by Wind Tre". WindWorld Blog. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  21. ^ "Very Mobile: il primo mvno con VoLTE attivo". WindWorld Blog. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  22. ^ Nicolosi, Simone (11 September 2020). "Very Mobile by Wind Tre: testato con successo Wi-Fi Calling, primo operatore in Italia ad averlo?". TelefoniaTech.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  23. ^ "VoWiFi in Italia: ci vorrà ancora molto? TLCWorld" (in Italian). 21 June 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  24. ^ Nin, Catherine Sbeglia (4 January 2023). "Iliad, WindTre finalize joint venture to close digital divide in Italy". RCR Wireless News. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  25. ^ "Jefferies Completes Sale of OpNet Operations to Wind Tre – Company Announcement - FT.com". markets.ft.com. Retrieved 19 September 2024.
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