INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
San Marino is set to become the first European country with a 5G network
The first site equipped with 5G kit has been switched on in the microstate and there are plans to achieve full coverage by the end of the
year.The first site makes use of 3.4GHz spectrum, but operator TIM San Marino will deploy 26GHz millimetre Wave (mmWave) kit manufactured by
Nokia at a later date.This means the country will effectively become an outdoor laboratory used to test the performance of network equipment
declared Elisabetta Romano, Chief Technology Officer at TIM.The government of San Marino agreed a deal with TIM last year, allowing the
operator to use the country as a testbed to refine its 5G blueprint for Italy
In return, the country will receive early access to services that will boost the local economy.As part of the deployment, the number of
mobile masts will also be doubled to increase network density across the 61 square km microstate, which is completely surrounded by
Italy.The government will work with universities, hospitals, industry and local transport networks on smart city applications and other
initiatives such as virtual reality (VR) software to boost tourism
bringing Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) broadband to a number of major cities
