It was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most prominent of which was SIP, the former state monopoly telephone operator in Italy.
The Italian State has exercised the "Golden Power" on TIM since 2017, which allows the government to take a number of actions when the strategic interests of the country are concerned.
Towards the end of 1996 TIM was the first world operator to launch a tariff plan based on a prepaid card on the GSM network, which in a short time generated rapid growth in mobile telephony.
[26] In 1996, TIM introduced a new prepaid rechargeable phone card[27] (GSM), and one year later launched short messaging service (SMS) capability.
The following year, the group released its DSL Flat service in Italy, Alice ADSL, with a download speed of 32 kbit/s and an upload speed of 8 kbit/s for €40/month plus a monthly based tax of €14.57, the "Canone Telecom", besides the mandatory monthly bills for home telephone numbers (a home telephone number was required for ADSL service).
Telecom Italia Media, the group's multimedia company, was formed in 2003 from SEAT Pagine Gialle, focussing its business on the television sector with La7 and MTV channels.
[36][37] Between 2002 and 2004, it launched some value-added services: SMS and MMS content, Internet browsing using WAP technology, games and Java applications.
[38] In 2004, as part of the TIM Turbo project, the EDGE and UMTS services were created for high-speed data transmission.
[45] In late 2013, Telefónica announced its intention to acquire the entirety of Telco by January 2014, potentially becoming Telecom Italia's largest shareholder.
[46][47] The plan, however, is being challenged by the Brazilian competition authority since Telefónica and Telecom Italia, with Vivo and TIM respectively, are the two largest telephone companies competing in Brazil.
[60] In 2016, following the rebranding that led to the adoption of the single TIM brand, the parent company also decided to change its identity.
On 9 July 2024, S&P, after the sale of the network to the KKR, promoted the TIM Group to BB from the previous B+, with the outlook remaining stable.
[67] On October 2, 2024, TIM examines the proposal formulated by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance together with the Asterion fund for the purchase of the entire share of Sparkle.
TIM evaluates a request for compensation for damages to the dishonest employee and collaborates with the Guardia di Finanza inspectors in the investigation.
[73][74][75] On 17 December 2024, CVC Capital Partners is evaluating the purchase of Vivendi's entire stake in Telecom Italia and the stock rises by 5.7%.
[76][77] On 13 January 2025, the Milan court rejected the appeal presented by Vivendi against the board of directors for the sale of TIM's network.
[78][79] On 15 January 2025, TIM's board of directors discussed the offer presented by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Retelit for the sale of Sparkle.
On 15 January 2025, the stock closed the trading day with a +0.47% at a price of €0.258, confirming a bullish trend that takes it away from the minimum values reached last year.
Upon release of the report, the Public Ministry of the Paraná State filed a lawsuit against TIM asking that it stop selling new mobile lines in Brasil and pay a multimillion-dollar fine for the damages against consumers.
[92] Telecom Italia has preserved its leadership on the direct fixed access lines market and the mobile postpaid segment.
Its part-owned Brazilian subsidiary, TIM Brasil, is listed in the Bovespa's ISE (Índice de Sustentabilidade Empresarial) index.
[105] Telecom Italia promotes a sustainability strategy including both environmental and social issues: in June 2014 it signed an agreement with A2A to buy energy only from renewable sources.