NEWS
Nokia deploying 5G for
Vodafone Italy’s 5G trial
in Milan
Cisco and TIM
come together
to accelerate
Italy’s
digitisation
C
isco and TIM, the leading service
provider in Italy, announced a major
agreement aimed at accelerating Italy’s
digitisation at Mobile World Congress. The
two companies are engaged in developing
a joint business and innovation programme.
They will leverage their unique competences
and technologies to create next-generation
solutions and services focused in particular
on cybersecurity, Internet of Things, Industry
4.0, Smart Cities and 5G.
This Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) has been signed in the framework of
Digitaliani, the three-year investment plan
launched by Cisco in January 2016, whose
objectives are well-aligned with TIM’s own
digitisation programme. The partnership is
based on three pillars:
N
okia and Vodafone Italy, as part of a
recently awarded Italian Ministry of
Economic Development (MISE) 5G bid,
have started a trial in Milan delivering
innovative and smart 5G services for
people in the northern Italian city, a hub
for industries such as banking and fashion
as well as a popular tourist destination.
The first 5G site installations were done
in December and have continued with
a demonstration of high-definition
video over 5G in one of the first field
applications in Europe.
As the technology partner of Vodafone
Italy’s 5G Trial in Milan, Nokia will
provide 5G network and application
solutions to support the creation of
a city-wide 5G test network. Nokia
has started 5G network deployment
and field testing activities. The first
5G site installations were completed
in December and a demonstration of
high-definition video over pre-standard
10
INTELLIGENTCIO
standalone 5G was successfully
performed on a live 5G site in one of the
main central locations of Milan.
This first test, performed with an
experimental device provided by
PRISMA Telecom Testing connected to
the Nokia Massive MIMO 5G solution,
demonstrated how the very low latency
of 5G can enhance the customer
experience of video applications. As part
of the 5G Trial in Milan, Vodafone and
Nokia will also develop specific advanced
use cases across various industries.
In the trial, Nokia will employ the Nokia
5G AirScale Massive MIMO antenna,
which supports both 4G and 5G, AirScale
baseband upgraded to support 5G and
Cloud Packet Core. Nokia will also employ
its Global Services expertise including
network deployment, integration and
network performance optimisation
throughout the trial.
• Sharing competences and solutions for the
digital transformation of companies, public
sector and services targeted to citizens
• A common effort to develop a partner
ecosystem able to leverage the new
opportunities coming from next-
generation 5G mobile networks
• A common commitment to spread
innovation everywhere, supported by
Cisco’s partnership in TIM #WCAP start-
up acceleration programme.
Industrial players, public and private sector
players and research centre start-ups will
be involved in creating and implementing
evolutionary projects to accelerate
digitisation to improve the lives of citizens.
Working on these projects will help the
growth of a wider ecosystem of companies,
developers and vendors ready to support
Italy’s economic development.
“Digitisation will be the most important
factor of TIM transformation, helping
us deliver the best customer experience,
integrating service simplicity and a complete
offer. We want to improve our customers’
lives, but we also want to support Italy’s
development and provide a simpler way to
access digital services for citizens, companies
and public sector organisations. We are
happy to share this journey with Cisco who is
offering a strong contribution to our efforts,”
said Amos Genish, CEO, TIM.
www.intelligentcio.com