Telecom Italia has announced that it will be the first mobile network operator in Italy to launch an HSPA+ platform, offering speeds of up to 21Mbps, up from the previous theoretical maximum of 14.4Mbps. The upgrade will be launched in the cities of Rome and Milan in December, and will be rolled out nationally next year, with 42Mbps speeds scheduled for rollout by the end of the year. Telecom Italia expects Long Term Evolution (LTE) services to follow in 2012, having recently completed 4G trials in Turin which demonstrated download speeds of 100Mbps.
A new range of USB modems has been designed especially for the HSPA+ platform and will initially be targeted at business customers, before becoming available on the mass-market. Franco Bernabe, Telecom Italia’s CEO, said: ‘This venture confirms the company’s decision to take a 360-degree approach to broadband evolution in Italy spanning both landlines and mobile, and to pioneer technological innovation. Telecom Italia’s number one business priority is to evolve, upgrade and adapt the network to cater to customer demand across the country.’