Telecom Italia (TIM) has signed a new partnership with Chinese tech firm, Xiaomi, to collaborate on the development of a series of 5G use cases in the smart city and industrial sectors. The agreement will accelerate the launch of 5G services, particularly in Italy’s southern regions.
“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”, says Mario Di Mauro, chief innovation and customer experience officer at TIM.
As part of the research and development agreement, the pair will look at 5G and its potential in terms of transmission capacity, reduced latency and beam steering, in an attempt to build new use cases relating to smart cities, public safety, Industry 4.0, entertainment and access to enhanced mobile broadband.
TIM expects to launch 5G services in Italy in 2020 and has already switched on its 5G network in the tiny European micro-state of San Marino.