Under the agreement, both companies will cooperate to accelerate the launch of 5G devices and solutions in the Italian market
Italian telecom operator TIM has signed a 5G-focused agreement with Chinese firm Xiaomi, which aims to accelerate the launch of 5G terminals and solutions in Italy.
Under the terms of the agreement, TIM will provide Xiaomi with technical know-how via its research center, and the partner ecosystem at its innovation hubs will also be made available.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi will supply TIM with technical and management support during the development and certification phase of 5G products. The companies say they “will work together to define and prepare communication plans created specifically for the joint launch of the 5G services.”
The Italian telco highlighted that 5G has the potential to make a significant impact, especially in terms of transmission capacity, reduced latency and beam steering, enabling the development of new services in contexts like smart cities, public safety, Industry 4.0, entertainment and access to ultra broadband.
“Our partnership with Xiaomi is further proof of the central role innovation plays at TIM and confirms our determination to lead the digital ecosystem. This commitment calls for advancing the availability of 5G services and terminals on the Italian market as early as we can with the goal of continuously offering our customers the most advanced technological solutions and guaranteeing them the best customer experience possible,” said Mario Di Mauro, chief innovation and customer experience officer at TIM.
In related news, TIM and Qualcomm showcased a multimedia service based on 5G NR connectivity during Mobile World Congress 2019. The demo was a result of the 5G cooperation agreement signed last year by the two companies to boost the deployment of 5G technologies in Italy.
The multimedia service is an advanced second-screen concept developed for video and live streaming content in 5G. Designed and developed by Vetrya in partnership with TIM, it leverages 5G NR connectivity provided by Nokia and a Mi MIX 3 5G smartphone powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 mobile platform with X50 5G modem and RF front-end solutions.
“This significant milestone is the result of our fruitful collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, and it confirms TIM’s leadership in innovation and its commitment to commercialize 5G services in Italy in 2019,” said Di Mauro.
“5G is here and demonstrations like this go a long way to show how consumers will be using 5G technology in the coming months,” said Enrico Salvatori, SVP and president of Qualcomm EMEA.
Last December, TIM and Qualcomm Technologies collaborated on the launch of TIM’s 5G Innovation Hub in Rome showing the first European 5G NR video call completed on the TIM network on the millimeter wave frequency band.
