Italy’s third largest ISP, Flashnet, has announced
that it has become part of German company Cybernet, one of the
largest international Internet backbone providers in Europe.
The acquisition, consisting of 100 percent of the Italian operation, puts the
German-operated company second only to TIN, the ISP of Telecom Italia, and
Italy Online, with regards to end-user business in the Mediterranean
peninsula.
Established in 1994, an aggressive marketing team and advanced technology made Flashnet one of the fastest growing ISPs in the country.
Currently, according to government reports, Flashnet provides service to
40,000 individual Internet users and 2,100 businesses. They also maintain an
average of 2,100 new customer applications at any given time.
Another reason for the company’s rapid growth is its ability to resolve
complex technical problems for high-volume users, as well as the
incorporation of collateral services and products into their overall line.
Much larger companies, such as Tiscali and Infostrada–both of which offer
complete voice and digital communications–have utilized this same marketing
strategy to gain a stronghold in the Italian marketplace.
Following this lead, Flashnet, under the new Cybernet direction, plans to continue its
drive in the Internet sector as well as enter Italy’s cellular telephone
business in October, beginning in Milan and Rome.
Unofficial sources say that Cybernet, Germany, paid Lit.50 million
(US$27.8 million) for the Italian ISP. Flashnet will soon be
entering the Italian stock exchange and has recently added a variety of
enhanced features in the consumer and business sectors, which will certainly add to
the value of the company.
