TIM has set a new speed record for 5G in Italy after activating Turin’s first 5G mmWave antenna.
Working with Ericsson, the Italian operator used the 28GHz band to hit a peak speed of 20GBps, which it claimed was a record for an urban environment. The spectrum band has been earmarked for 5G due to its large amount of available capacity.
The installation was used to offer a VR-based tour of Piazza Carlo Alberto from a location on the other side of the city, via a headset and sensors.
TIM plans to launch VR exhibits for other museums in the city using the technology and will test 5G applications with Ericsson at the city’s Politecnico university next year.
“With a transmission capacity 20 times greater than the current 4G one the 5G network will connect a very large number of objects and people to offer high quality, personalised and extremely engaging innovative services,” TIM said in a statement.
The new trial follows TIM signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the city’s authorities back in March of this year to cover it with the next generation technology by 2020. The partnership saw the operator hit download speeds of up to 700MBps on a live “4.5G” network in the city.
TIM CEO Amos Genish gave a bullish view of 5G’s prospects during a demonstration day at the operator’s headquarters last month, saying that the upcoming technological revolution would enable “seamless interactions between people, objects and the environment”.
In September, TIM collaborated with Fastweb to launch 5G trials in several other Italian cities.
It is also rolling out 5G infrastructure in the small republic of San Marino.