Iliad Italia CEO Benedetto Levi (pictured) launched a savage attack on market rivals for blaming his company for their own under-performance and subsequent need for cost-cutting measures, Il Sole 24 Ore reported.

In an interview with the newspaper, Levi said his company was being charged with “all the sins in the world” by competitors, when in reality there were a variety of other factors impacting falling service revenue.

He noted operators should deal with competition by creating differentiated services, while noting falling consumer prices were the latest in a string of excuses made by rivals for revenue declines.

The executive said in 2018 operators blamed a change in billing cycles for reducing turnover; in 2017 they cited EU roaming regulations; and previously attributed declines to OTT companies taking SMS revenue.

Levi added he believed Iliad Italia brought benefits to both consumers and the industry.

Iliad shook the Italian market, launching in May 2018 with aggressively priced offers which drastically undercut rivals Vodafone Italy, Wind Tre and Telecom Italia.

By the end of 2018, the newcomer had signed-up 2.8 million subscribers, though simultaneously its parent company was losing ground in its home market of France.

In the wake of Iliad’s arrival Italy’s other operators cut their own prices and, in Vodafone’s case, launched discount sub-brand Ho. Last month, Vodafone’s Italy unit entered negotiations with trade unions over redundancies in the country citing a “drastic fall in prices”.

Wind Tre is reportedly mulling selling assets and relocating staff, while Telecom Italia cited the entry of Iliad and “changed competitive scenario” as contributing to a €166 million drop in annual service revenue in its 2018 financial results.