The companies will start with Milan and Genoa, where they will install 100 small cells, and they will continue in other cities and places with high traffic density, they said.
INWIT – formerly an offshoot of TIM – is the largest tower operator in Italy, following its merger with Vodafone’s Italian tower business in March 2020. TIM and Vodafone are the two biggest shareholders.
INWIT, which now has over 22,000 traditional sites, said: “More and more small cell systems capable of increasing the quality of the signal will be developed in large urban centres.”
The company said that “small cells play a fundamental role, especially for the development and perfect functioning of 5G and its services”. They will enable low latency and “a data transmission speed ten times faster than previous systems”.
The company said that it is experimenting with “underground solutions” in several cities with historic significance, including “small cells that are inserted in manholes under the road surface that, especially in venues with a remarkable artistic value or in ancient towns, by no means alter the artistic integrity”.
