FS Italiane group, TIM partner to boost tunnel connectivity

The FS Italiane Group, through its subsidiary RFI-Rete Ferroviaria Italiana, and the TIM Group have signed an agreement to strengthen 4G mobile coverage systems in tunnels on Italian high speed lines, from Turin to Naples and from Bologna to Venice.

The upgrade will also involve coverage provided by other TLC Operators, including WINDTRE. Moreover, as part of initiatives linked to the NRRP, feasibility studies on the possible use of 5G technologies will be carried out. The aim is to achieve increasingly more reliable connectivity on board high-speed trains.

The planned work will provide passengers with a stable and high quality connection even in the most unfavourable areas, such as railway tunnels, through both the on-board WiFi service and direct coverage provided by the TLC Operators participating in the project.

Work to upgrade the systems in tunnels will start as early as 2022 on the stretches of the high-speed line between Turin, Milan, Bologna and Florence, and will then continue in 2023 from Florence to Naples and from Bologna to Venice. The project involves an investment of around 12 million euros, divided between RFI, the FS Group company that manages Italian railway infrastructure, and the participating TLC Operators.

This agreement represents a first solid step to bring voice and data connectivity to standards of international excellence on Italian railway lines. The initiative sees the FS Italiane Group and the main national TLC Operators play an active role, focusing due attention on travellers’ digital needs, both business and personal, and operating in line with the country’s development initiatives envisaged in the NRRP.