CONAD Centre - North and CONAD Romagna - Marche entrust their sales point connection to the head offices to the FASTWEB broadband network
Milan, 28 December 2004 - FASTWEB, the main alternative Italian operator for broadband telecommunication services provided via a native all IP network that can offer Triple Play services (voice, data, video), has been chosen as its technological partner by Conad Centre-North and Conad Romagna-Marche for the broadband connection of all the associated retail outlets in the areas concerned towards their respective head offices in Reggio Emilia and Forlì.
Conad - one of the main Italian cooperative organisations of independent retailers, and the second largest domestic retail group - has identified FASTWEB as the ideal telecommunications operator in order to guarantee the integration of several high quality services that can meet the ever increasing number and sophistication of its customers' demands on a single IP Virtual Private Network.
The agreement, worth 1 million euro and lasting three years, envisages the connection using VPN MPLS technology of 250 shops spread out over the areas concerned. The IP network created by FASTWEB - over 600 major companies and public offices use this service - will allow the 250 retail outlets involved to share high speed data transmission services towards the head offices of Conad Centre-North and Conad Romagna-Marche. In addition, the two companies will locate in FASTWEB's server farm the servers that will host an innovative back-office solution for the centralised management of outlets and for the centralised diffusion of high added value innovative services dedicated to customers and associates.
"The partnership with Conad," said Roberto Contin, manager of FASTWEB's Large Account Business Unit, "is a further important example of how broadband can become a tool for competitive development in a wide range of market sectors. The collaboration with Conad also confirms how in the retail sector FASTWEB's innovative technology is recognised as being reliable, flexible and effective."
The project managers for the two Conad cooperatives, Luca Genitoni and Gianni Brasini, jointly stated, "The attention paid to our customers and our company base, and the ability to continually innovate our services are the stimulus that led us to identify FASTWEB as the most appropriate telecommunication services partner for our project."