TIM and Ericsson have launched a 5G for Italy project, which unites industries, public sector organisations, universities, research centres, and small and medium enterprises to develop and test new services.
Pilots under the aegis of the programme include smart cities, the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, transport and smart architecture.
Initial projects will include security systems, automated production, tracking of luxury goods, solutions to aid the transport of goods within ports, cloud robotics for manufacturing, connected cars, remote health and immersive video.
The vendor and operator said they would also track emerging trends from within Italy and across the world to keep up to speed with new kinds of technology and business cases that will be present from 2020 onwards.
Mario Di Mauro, Head of Strategy & Innovation at TIM, said: “This programme allows us to develop the new network simultaneously to those services and applications that in the near future will be enabled by 5G for the digital transformation needs of Italian companies and the development of a new multi-media communication for the consumers. It is an important milestone that will transform the society with new business models and will enable citizens and businesses to leverage on 5G potential.”
Nunzio Mirtillo, Head of Region Mediterranean, Ericsson, added: “The two companies will work together with industries to understand their specific network requirements in order to realise the full benefits of 5G technologies.”
The vendor has been one of the most active companies in researching next generation technology. Last month it signed a memorandum of understanding with China Unicom in its latest agreement for 5G R&D.