Italy Communications - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 19,994,902 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 34 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 78,114,933 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 132 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: Italy’s large telecom market has one of the most progressive fiber sectors in Europe, with regulatory measures encouraging network sharing; regulatory measures have also been introduced to facilitate access to next generation networks (NGNs), and a number of deals have been brokered which enable the main telcoms to provide bundled services to large numbers of the population; Italy’s vibrant mobile market has one of the highest subscription rates in Europe, though the number of subscribers has fallen in recent years as customers respond to attractive off-net pricing which has reduced the financial benefit of having SIM cards from different providers; network companies were among the first in Europe to trial services based on 5G; the high cost also encouraged the regulator in early 2021 to consider extending the licenses by an additional six years (2021)

domestic: 34 per 100 for fixed-line and nearly 132 per 100 for mobile-cellular subscriptions (2021)

international: country code - 39; landing points for Italy-Monaco, Italy-Libya, Italy-Malta, Italy-Greece-1, Italy-Croatia, BlueMed, Janna, FEA, SeaMeWe-3 & 4 & 5, Trapani-Kelibia, Columbus-III, Didon, GO-1, HANNIBAL System, MENA, Bridge International, Malta-Italy Interconnector, Melita1, IMEWE, VMSCS, AAE-1, and OTEGLOBE, submarine cables that provide links to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia and US; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean) (2019)

Broadcast media

two Italian media giants dominate with 3 national terrestrial stations and privately owned companies with 3 national terrestrial stations; a large number of private stations, a satellite TV network; 3 AM/FM nationwide radio stations; about 1,300 commercial radio stations

Internet country code

.it

Internet users

total: 44.25 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 75% (2021 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 18,128,787 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 30 (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Italy on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Italy 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Italy 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.