LIVE FROM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WORLD, NICE: Regulators must step in to help pull Italy’s telecoms industry out of a negative spiral of severe price pressure, Telecom Italia CTIO Elisabetta Romano (pictured) told Mobile World Live.

In an interview, Romano said: “Italy is difficult. If you think about the mobile subscription, what the people pay a month is the price of a Cornetto and a cappuccino.”

She added continuation of the current industry dynamic, which has seen operators slash prices in an already tough market following the entry of low-cost rival Iliad, would see a continuation of “burning value in the industry”.

Romano warned ongoing price pressures in the country would leave Telecom Italia with less money to invest and ultimately impact the services operators are able to offer their customers.

Telecom Italia has spent €2.4 billion on 5G licences alone as it continues to prepare for launch of its new network, which she said would provide the basis for many use cases beneficial to the country as a whole.

She added an inability to generate return on these investments would “destroy the industry”, noting there was a “negative spiral that is not good for us, it is not good for our customers, for the vendors, the shareholders, you are really burning value in an industry that is clearly imparting GDP”.

Romano called on authorities to step-in to help operators resolve the issue: “The regulator has a lot of work and a big responsibility to look at the industry and compare with other industries. To do some sort of post-mortem as to what has happened in the last ten years and try to understand how they can help.”