The Italian carrier had recently secured spectrum in the700 MHz, 3.7 GHz and 26 GHz and bands
Italian carrier TIM and Samsung Electronics have signed a strategic collaboration agreement for the joint launch of TIM’s 5G services in Italy. The two companies said they intend to use every technical and commercial tool available to them to commercialize 5G next year.
TIM’s Chief Executive Officer, Amos Genish, said: “This agreement with Samsung puts TIM in the forefront of 5G initiatives in Europe. We have not just set out our intentions, but have defined, in detail, the operational and fundamental aspects of all the sensitive activities linked to the launch of TIM’s 5G services and of Samsung’s 5G handsets for TIM. We have set ourselves a challenging timescale and will be using every tool available to us to reach our target: to launch 5G services in Italy as quickly as possible”.
Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung will provide all the technical support needed during the product development and certification phase and will develop, together with TIM, a communication plan for the joint launch of the 5G service.
The collaboration will also include the development of specific initiatives on internet of things (IoT) services, with particular focus on smart home solutions.
Italy’s Ministry of Economic Development had recently announced the completion of the national 5G spectrum tender, in which the government raised a total of EUR 6.55 billion ($7.56 billion), more than EUR 4 billion over the minimum reserve price of EUR 2.5 billion.
During a total of 14 days of competitive bidding, local carriers Telecom Italia, Wind Tre, Vodafone Italia, Fastweb and Iliad secured spectrum in the 694-790 MHz, 26.5-27.5 GHz and 3.6-3.8 GHz bands.
TIM paid EUR 2.4 billion for 80 megahertz in the 3.7 GHz band, 200 megahertz in the 26 GHz band and 20 megahertz in 700 MHz band.
5G licenses are valid for 19 years, with the exception of the licenses in the 700 MHz band, which will not be released until 2022 and will be valid for 15 and a half years.
TIM recently confirmed plans to make immediate use of the blocks of spectrum in the 3.7 GHz and 26 GHz band together with the blocks it already owns in those frequencies, to leverage the testing already underway in the cities of Turin, Bari and Matera and in the Republic of San Marino.
In San Marino, TIM has already started to implement smart city services including public security, transport, and environmental monitoring, in addition to applications in the media, education and virtual reality fields.
