What is happening to Libero and Virgilio could change the email market

Press releases follow each other, Italiaonline tries to reassure customers but the disservice that, since the night of January 23, affects customers with Libero and Virgilio emails has not yet been resolved. From memory, we can’t remember such a long-lasting problem involving such an important company. Behind the e-mail service, there is an entire ecosystem which in the consumer segment alone reaches 27.2 million unique users every month, 22.3 million of which from mobile. Huge numbers for the Italian market.

Thanks to this success are also the historic Libero Mail and Virgilio Mail users who should exceed 9 million according to the latest data. In fact, there are many Italians who have opened an account with the two well-known brands that experienced their golden age in the early years of the internet in our country. Loyal customers since they still use those services.

Italiaonline denies external attacks

“We have been working tirelessly for several hours now to solve an unexpected and unforeseen infrastructural problem – said Diego Rizzi, Italiaonline’s Chief Technology Officer – and which did not depend on Italiaonline’s developed systems. We can reassure, as already written on our portals and touchpoints digital, that our users have been in this emergency situation, and will always continue to be, our priority. The current situation is not dependent on external cyber attacks”.

In short, the problem should be internal. You don’t have many details, a fact that makes the anger of customers “locked out” of their inbox all the more frustrating. Including paying customers, except for those who use Libero’s Pec. At least that’s safe, but not the reputation.

Who is behind the great Italian company

Last year the histrionic billionaire Naguib Sawiris, former owner of Wind, had decided to take possession of all of Italiaonline. It was June when Libero Acquisition, a company of the Orascom group, indirectly controlled by the Egyptian tycoon, had completed the process that led the Sawiris family to indirectly control the entire share capital. A non-random choice to remain in the Italian market given that the company had inherited a large part of the history of the Italian network.

“As we have had the opportunity to communicate to our users in these hours, in 25 years of faithful service to the Italians, we have never been off-line for so long”, writes the company in a tweet. A post that feels more like a white flag than anything else, reputational damage is done.

The spaces left empty, however, often fill up. A motto that applies to both politics and the internet. Probably this prolonged disservice risks becoming a tempting opportunity for competitors who will be able to recover market shares.

A chance to switch emails?

There is no official data yet, but there are not a few users who promise to change their main email as soon as possible. Gmail will benefit from it which, even in its free version, has very low percentages of disruptions. Of course, there is the strength (and power) of Google behind it, but it could also be an opportunity for other suppliers. Maybe even those with paid services that seem to be niche products but which often perform a fundamental function: that of staying online for as long as possible and providing for contractual conditions with refunds to be made up for in the event of disservices.

Meanwhile, among the endless comments on social media, some insiders do not hide their surprise at verifying that, even today, in 2023, so many Italians entrust the management of their email to a free service. Although every year the numbers record a constant growth of company sites on the .it domain, there are not a few professionals and companies who still use the email addresses created 20 years ago. Business cards speak for themselves, even if this disservice could change the uses and habits of professionals forever, forcing them to be more aware of the value of their communications. Provided you get them back. “The service, once restored, will not generate any losses for the millions of Libero and Virgilio mail accounts”, reads one of the company’s first notes. Let’s hope.