Linkem S.p.A. is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

telecommunications company A telephone company, also known as a telco, telephone service provider, or telecommunications operator, is a kind of communications service provider (CSP), more precisely a telecommunications service provider (TSP), that provides telecommunicat ...

specializing in

wireless broadband Wireless broadband is telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area. The term comprises both fixed and mobile broadband. The term broadband Originally the word ...

connection (

HiperLAN HiperLAN (High Performance Radio LAN) is a wireless LAN standard. It is a European alternative for the IEEE 802.11 standards (the IEEE is an international organization). It is defined by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) ...

WiMAX Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options. The WiMAX ...

and

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...

). The company has a network of

wholly owned subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

with 1,200 antennas (

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) located throughout Italy, providing

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

connectivity to surrounding areas. The Linkem

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

is an alternative to traditional telecommunications networks, allowing signal transmission to areas that lack

cellular Cellular may refer to: *Cellular automaton, a model in discrete mathematics * Cell biology, the evaluation of cells work and more * ''Cellular'' (film), a 2004 movie *Cellular frequencies, assigned to networks operating in cellular RF bands *Cell ...

connectivity. The firm was Italy's first

Wireless Internet Service Provider A wireless Internet service provider (WISP) is an Internet service provider with a network based on wireless networking. Technology may include commonplace Wi-Fi wireless mesh networking, or proprietary equipment designed to operate over open ...

, serving about 2,000 municipalities covering 40% of Italy's land area.

History

Linkem S.p.A. was founded in 2001 as Megabeam Italia S.p.A. Its founders include a group of

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

supported by AngelVentures Serviços de Consultoria S.A., of Gianfilippo Cuneo. It was the first Italian

, originally serving around 100 thousand users through a

Wi-Fi network Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network Communication protocol, protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital d ...

predominantly available in hotels, airports (including New York City JFK and

London Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

), stations and service areas of the trunk A4

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

Telecom Italia Gruppo TIM, legally TIM S.p.A. (formerly Telecom Italia S.p.A.), also known as the TIM Group in English, is an Italian telecommunications company with headquarters in Rome, Milan, and Naples, (with the Telecom Italia Tower) which provides fixed ...

indicated interest in the acquisition of Linkem for 11.5 million euros, but the Italian antitrust authorities required conditions the firm would not accept. Specifically, Telecom Italia would have had to separate wi-fi from all other services, give up all exclusive licenses held by itself as well as those held by Linkem, and grant competitors roaming access to the network, ending discriminatory pricing. In 2005 the Linkem brand was created, and in June 2006 the company became Linkem S.p.A. In 2010 the company purchased Maxi-Com and Retelit. In 2008, AFT S.p.A. (Linkem's parent company) won the notice of allocation for

frequency bands 3.4-3.6 GHz, in 13

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with their offer of 34,420,000 euros. With its WiMax service, Linkem reaches more than 80% of Italy's population - becoming the first Italian operator to launch a WiMax-based voice and broadband service. In 2010 Telecom Italia developed an agreement with Linkem for the rent of its WiMax networks, offering free WiMax in the regions where Linkem has its own network. By 2012, Linkem was serving a population of over 27 million residents. 2015 marked the activation of LTE coverage on 3.5 GHz frequencies (Linkem proprietary frequencies) with a campaign to replace outdoor WiMax antennas. On 30 December 2021, Tiscali S.p.A. and Linkem S.p.A. approved the project for the merger by incorporation of Linkem Retail S.r.l. in Tiscali S.p.A. On 27 April 2022, the shareholders' meetings of Tiscali and Linkem approved the merger between the two companies. On 1 August 2022, the two companies completed the merger process: Tiscali S.p.A. integrated Linkem Retail S.r.l., with the consequent transfer of the branch to the subsidiary Tiscali Italia S.p.A., while Linkem S.p.A. became the

majority shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal own ...

of Tiscali S.p.A. (58.60%).

Ownership

In 2003 shareholders were reported to be Angel Ventures Serviços de Consultorio S.A. (42%), 2G Investments S.p.A. (28%), Cuneo & Associati S.r.l. (4%), Marco Airoldi (4%), Rocco Rosa (7%), Davide Rota (12%) and Ser-Fid Italian Trust and Audit S.p.A. (3%). In July 2009, the company A.F.T. S.p.A., which owns 100% of the share capital of Linkem S.p.A., was owned by several investment funds, including Ramius Capital Group, Vintage Investment, Leucadia, and 2G investments.

Communication and sponsorships

* Testimonial 2012–2013 in planning national TV: Belen Rodriguez and Francesca Piccinini * Technology partner Fipav * Title sponsor of the Italian club (Linkem Club Italy) 2009–2010 * Official sponsor of the '

Foggia Calcio Calcio Foggia 1920, commonly referred to as Foggia, is an Italian football club based in Foggia, Apulia. It currently plays in Serie C, having last been in the top level Serie A in 1995. The team gained nationwide popularity as Foggia Calcio ...

for the Pro League championship 2010–2011 * Official sponsor Avezzano Rugby 2011–2012 * Official sponsor Messina Volleyball 2011–2012 * Official sponsor of the San Nicola stadium in Bari 2012–2013 * Official sponsor of the basketball team Linkem NPC Rieti 2012–2013 * Official sponsor PlayOff Volleyball male Serie A 2012–2013

References

External links

* {{Official website} Companies based in Rome Telecommunications companies established in 1999 Internet service providers of Italy Italian brands Telecommunications companies of Italy