TIM’s “Beyond Connectivity” program focuses bringing AI and cloud to bear on network operations
Major European operators in January signed a memorandum of understanding outlining their multi-year commitment to deploy Open RAN technologies throughout their coverage areas. Now Italy’s TIM has announced it will work with JMA Wireless to deploy Open RAN kit in Faenza, a city of around 60,000 souteast of Bologna where JMA has facilities.
According to TIM, JMA will provide virtualized baseband software and radios from Microelectronics Technology. The first cut will focus on 4G with a plan to extend the disaggregated approach to 5G. The operator characterized its move toward Open RAN as following “a supplier diversification logic and with a view to fostering a broader industrial ecosystem.”
To the industry point, TIM called out “digital services such as those linked to the new solutions for Industry 4.0, the smart city and autonomous driving…The deployment of Open RAN solutions in an open environment, in line with the objectives of TIM’s 2021-2023 ‘Beyond Connectivity’ plan, will unite the potential of the cloud and Artificial Intelligence with the evolution of the mobile network. Moreover, it will enable operators to further strengthen security standards, improve network performances and optimise costs…”
Earlier this year Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, and Vodafone signed an MOU on Open RAN. In a statement, the operators said they will also work together with existing and new ecosystem partners, industry bodies like the O-RAN Alliance and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), as well as European policy makers, to ensure Open RAN quickly reaches competitive parity with traditional RAN solutions.
