TIM speeds up on 5G, starts testing first apps for Industry 4.0

TIM has put its foot down on 5G and started the first field tests in the world in Turin, enabled by the potential of the mobile technology of the future.

From the flight of a drone connected to the mobile network that sends video flow in real time, to a cloud computing server, to “virtual reality” and immersive technologies to take visitors to the historical centres of cities through a 3D reconstruction, or gaming on the internet, against an adversary thousands of kilometres away, to the robotic cloud applications for Industry 4.0 that can optimise production processes monitored in real time and controlled in the cloud, thanks to the ultrabroadband network performances.

These are the scenarios presented today in Turin, on “5G Day”, the meeting at the TIM’s Open Lab innovation and development centre with representatives from the institutions, authorities and companies of the sector, to strengthen the debate on the development and potential of the mobile technology of the future, which will make the new services linked to smart cities enabled by 5G available to individuals and businesses.

The “Torino 5G” project, instituted by TIM thanks to an agreement signed recently with the Turin municipal authority, enabling it to carry out the first trial of 5G technology in a metropolitan environment by the end of 2018, to speed up the creation of a new generation mobile network, is now getting down to business.

Turin will in fact be the first city in Italy, and one of the first in Europe, to acquire a new 5G mobile network, confirming its position as the capital of innovation. TIM plans to install, as early as 2017, more than 100 small cells in the main areas of the city (Via Roma, Via Po, Via Garibaldi, Via Lagrange and Piazza Vittorio, in the Quadrilatero Romano, and in the areas where the Polytechnic University and University of Turin are located).

On “5G Day” TIM, working with Qualcomm Technologies Inc. and Ericsson, will achieve another first, achieving speeds of up to 700 Mbps in download and up to 75 Mbps in upload, on the live mobile network.

A new milestone following the European record the company achieved for the commercial launch of 4.5G technology with speeds of up to 500 Mbps. The service with speeds of up to 700 Mbps will be made available to TIM customers in the coming months, with the arrival of enabled smartphones and the upgrading of the 4.5G network currently underway in the principal cities.

“We are forging a path to the new 5G technology, a challenge that leverages our most important asset: the network. TIM confirms its commitment to new generation ultrabroadband research and development, participating actively in the definition of the 5G standards, opening cutting edge laboratories, such as, for example, the mmWave lab, studying millimetric waves, and the IoT Open Lab to accelerate the development of internet of things applications, and developing new business models in partnership with the major technology players – says Giovanni Ferigo, Head of Technology at TIM. –. Turin is once again the capital of innovation, thanks also to the agreement between TIM and the municipal authority for the mobile coverage of the urban area with 5G technology, which will enable it to provide the community with new generation Smart City services”.

TIM is leading the definition of the requirements for the 5G standards, and aims to be one of the leading European telecommunications operators, working with standardisation groups and consortia and participating in international projects. In addition, TIM and Ericsson signed a “5G for Italy” agreement in 2016. This is a programme to create an open ecosystem, and the intention is to add industries and small and medium sized enterprises to develop and test new services, and pilot projects that use 5G technologies.

Today’s initiative in Turin was a major opportunity to outline the scenarios and directions that are emerging internationally, and to present the first 5G trials in the world. Some of these applications have featured in live demos at TIM’s Open Air Lab, in collaboration with sector players such as Ericsson, Huawei, Nokia, Samsung and SEiKEY.

Specifically, they have presented the immersive technologies that will make it possible for people and objects to interact in virtual worlds, even if they are on opposite sides of the world. Virtual reality solutions can be adopted in industrial design, entertainment and tourism.

Another scenario is drones which, thanks to integration with the 5G network, will see an acceleration in the development of their control and monitoring systems. In terms of cloud robotics, the company has presented the features to optimise production processes that are monitored and controlled remotely, in the cloud, thanks to the ultrabroadband network performances.

In 2020 5G technology will lead to a great transformation in the fixed and mobile network, with transmission capacities of dozens of Gigabits per second, performances 10 times the current ones, to use ultraHD video content and cloud computing services.

This will introduce a significant reduction in latency, to just a few milliseconds (around one tenth of today’s), for control services in real time. The new network will also enable sensors and objects to be created that are powered by batteries that last more than 10 years, with a major reduction in consumption. 5G will allow terminals of up to 100 thousand per cell to coexist, and very highly reliable performances for mission critical activities (public safety and eHealth). 5G will be able to manage communications between lots of terminals and objects, creating the foundation for the most challenging Internet of Things scenarios, adopting innovative solutions for robotics, health, environment, augmented reality and self-driving logistical systems.