| Società Italiana per l'Esercizio Telefonico p.A. | |
| Type: | S.p.A. |
| Industry: | Telecommunications |
| Predecessor: | SIP |
| Successor: | Telecom Italia |
| Hq Location City: | Turin |
| Hq Location Country: | Italy |
| Area Served: | Italy |
| Owner: | IRI |
Società Italiana per l'Esercizio Telefonico p.A. (formerly Società Idroelettrica Piemontese p.A.), commonly known as SIP or SIPTEL, was the Italian state-owned telecommunications company, which dealt with public, fixed and mobile telephony.
In 1994 it became Telecom Italia S.p.A.
In 1964, the energy company Società Idroelettrica Piemontese (SIP), founded in 1918, ceased producing energy and acquired all of the Italian telephone companies, becoming Società Italiana per l'Esercizio Telefonico (SIP). It was run by the Italian Ministry of Finance.. SIP was a state monopoly from 1964 to 1996 and Italian people had to pay the "Canone Telecom" (a line rental charge of about €120 per year, plus hardware rental and other minor costs) in order to have a phone at home.
On 27 July 1994, by the merger of several telecommunications companies among which SIP, IRITEL, Italcable, Telespazio and SIRM (companies owned by STET), Telecom Italia was born.[1] [2] This was due to a reorganization plan for the telecommunications sector presented by IRI to the Minister of Finance.