On Friday, Telecom Italia's chairman Franco Bernabe said that an Italian mobile market price war was unsustainable. He added that an alliance in the market was likely to happen.

"This price war is unsustainable for all the players. The others are suffering as much or more than we are. In the next six months ... I expect an easing of the competitive pressure," Bernabe told analysts through a conference call. "In Italy something will happen in a not too distant future."

Bernabe said that four "infrastructure" mobile companies would be too many in Italy. Telecom Italia was the foremost player in the mobile phone market of the country. The company was followed by Vodafone Italia, Vimpelcom's Wind and Hutchison Whampoa's 3 Italia enterprise.

In May, Telecom Italia reported that its first quarter revenue dropped by 3.2% at Eur6.796 billion. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached Eur2.699 billion, down by 6.4% year over year. The company also reported a solid profitability boost by 39.7%.