ZTE will initially supply more than 200 LTE base stations for Rome project
Italian Internet services provider Linkem selected ZTE to supply equipment for launch of a fixed wireless broadband network in Rome. The service is said to use LTE technology and spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band.
Linkem’s CEO Davide Rota said the deployment of LTE base stations will begin in Rome, but the company expects to provide broadband services in other Italian cities in the coming months, including Milan, Bologna and Florence. The executive also said Linkem currently covers 55% of the Italian population with its broadband offering.
The Italian firm currently provides broadband services to approximately 330,000 residential customers in parts of Rome, Palermo, Turin and Naples, with claims of adding 15,000 new customers per month.
“Our service coverage is currently growing by approximately 1% or 2% each month,” Rota said.
Under terms of the agreement with ZTE, the vendor will provide LTE base stations in Rome. Antennas are expected to be colocated on existing sites.
“Together with ZTE, we hope we can further demonstrate that fixed wireless ultrabroadband solutions can successfully compete against offers from other wireline operators in all parts of Italy, including the largest cities,” ZTE said in a statement. “In fact, Rome will represent one of the largest single network deployment of 3.5 GHz services worldwide.”
ZTE’s Western Europe region head Hu Ken said the revenue contribution of Europe and the Americas has been growing in recent years, accounting for 25% of the company’s business last year.
