Telecom Italia (TIM) expects to provide 5G technology in at least 120 cities and 200 tourist destinations across Italy by 2021, the operator said in a release.
By that year, TIM also plans to provide 5G coverage for 245 industrial districts and 200 specific projects for big businesses.
The carrier also announced the launch of commercial 5G services, with speeds of up to 2 Gbps, in Naples, the third city to receive the technology following last month’s activation in parts of Turin and Rome.
TIM’s 5G offering will also cover Milan, Bologna, Verona, Florence, Matera and Bari by the end of this year. The telco also announced plans to cover 30 tourist destinations throughout Italy, 50 industrial districts and complete 30 dedicated 5G projects for large companies by December 2019.
The operator said that the speed of the 5G service will be increasing progressively up to 10 Gbps by 2021.
TIM previously said that its 5G services will be offered through spectrum in the 700 MHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and 26.5-27.5 GHz bands.
TIM has already launched the first commercial offers for consumer and business customers and has signed a partnership with smartphone manufacturers Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo to enable an immediate use of the new-generation network. TIM customers can already purchase the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G and Xiaomi Mix3 5G smartphone in TIM stores, while the Oppo Reno 5G device will be available soon.
The European carrier is currently offering two 5G plans for the residential segment with speeds of up to 2 Gbps. The first offering is dubbed TIM Advance 5G and includes 50 GB of data, unlimited calls and SMS, HD and ultra-HD video; the TIM Advance Top offer includes 100 GB, unlimited calls and SMS, HD and ultra-HD video and roaming in countries including the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and Monaco.
For business customers, TIM has the Senza Limiti 5G (5G Unlimited) offer, including unlimited minutes and SMS – also from Italy to Europe and 16 destinations outside the European Union – 100 GB of data, unlimited e-mail and chat and roaming, also internationally, with unlimited calls and SMS as well as 5 GB of data in 16 destinations outside the EU.
“TIM is working to offer increasingly customized services to industry in the country, so as to increase the efficiency of production processes, in part through the adoption of MIMO technology to optimize connection capacity,” the telco said.
It added that its TIM 5G “has enabled some services which are already available for the tourism and culture sector, among the first that can benefit from applications of the new technology. Special headsets allow immersive virtual reality visits to museums and historical locations, making it possible to interact with a real tourist guide in the same virtual environment despite a distance of many kilometers. TIM has made these virtual tours possible for Piazza Navona, Matera’s rupestrian churches and the Pietro Micca Museum and Subalpine Parliament in Turin.”
TIM has been working with Swedish vendor Ericsson on a number of 5G trials and tests in the country. In November last year, TIM and Samsung Electronics signed a strategic collaboration agreement for the joint launch of TIM’s 5G services in Italy. The two companies said they intend to use every technical and commercial tool available to them to commercialize 5G during 2019.
Under the terms of that agreement, Samsung is providing all the technical support needed during the product development and certification phase and will develop, together with TIM, a communication plan for the joint launch of the 5G service.
