Italy’s competition watchdog levied a sizeable €1.2 million fine on Iliad Italia for making what the authority stated were unclear claims about its 5G service offering.

AGCM explained Iliad was guilty of omitting important information about its offers, thereby misleading customers about the services they were buying.

The authority pointed to the fact Iliad advertised certain mobile plans as compatible with 5G, but excluded information about the “indispensable conditions” for using this technology.

For example, a customer would need to be within the geographical coverage area of the operator’s 5G network and buy a smartphone enabled for the specific network.

AGCM also scolded Iliad for not clarifying only 6GB of a 100GB 5G plan could be used when roaming in Europe.

Iliad’s entry to Italy in 2018 kicked-off a fierce contest with incumbent operators. Parent Iliad Group is reportedly in talks with WindTre regarding a network sharing deal which could ease 5G deployment costs.

The group also showed interest in acquiring rival Vodafone Italy, but a preliminary approach was rebuffed.

CK Hutchison has since lamented continued intense competition in Italy, which it blamed for a drop in revenue and customers at WindTre.

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