Vodafone Italy has announced the launch of the country’s first 1Gbps mobile service in Rome, Naples and Palermo. The firm says its 4.5G network is using four separate frequency bands, including the 1400MHz L band, alongside techniques such as 4×4 MIMO and higher order modulation. The first handset supporting the improved speeds will be the Samsung S9 which is due to be launched in Vodafone stores on 15 March.
Vodafone was the first Italian cellco to hit 800Mbps on its 4G LTE-A network when it launched in May 2017; 800Mbps services are now available in ten cities: Florence, Palermo, Milan, Verona, Turin, Bologna, Naples, Rome, Genoa and Padua. Meanwhile, its standard 4G system reaches 98% of the population in over 7,100 municipalities, including 1,900 which have access to higher speeds via LTE-A technology. The firm has also begun trials of 5G services in Milan, in conjunction with Nokia.