ZTE signs up for Rome 5G pilot

The Italian subsidiary of China’s ZTE has signed a memorandum of understanding with Rome city council to take part in the forthcoming trials of 5G and future Wi-Fi technologies. In a statement, the company confirmed it had signed up to the ‘Roma5G’ project and committed to building the network infrastructure needed for the development of new digital and Smart City-focused services in areas such as tourism, mobility and video surveillance.

Rome’s mayor Virginia Raggi launched the project with Italian operator Fastweb and Sweden’s Ericsson last September, announcing that the field trial would involve around 3,000 users and would help the capital join the five cities already selected by Italy's Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) for pre-commercial trials of 5G networks.

ZTE said the agreement with the capital's authorities is part of plans to invest EUR 500 million in the country over the next 5 years. The company is building its European 5G hub in Italy and has partnered with Wind Tre and Open Fiber to build a 5G pre-commercial network in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band.