TIM Becomes First Telecom Provider to Break the 2Gbps Barrier in 5G
With all the hype surrounding the massive speeds consumers can come to expect from 5G connections, there has been little delivery on those promises. Until now, that is. TIM, a telecommunications provider in Italy, has successfully breached the 2Gbps connection speed consistently for commercial usage. TIM acquired the rights to operate in the 26GHz millimeter-wave frequency and accomplished the feat using an Askey CPE RTL0200 running a Qualcomm Snapdragon X50 5G modem-RF system. It represents the first time that a live commercial 5G network has achieved this speed.
Great Ambitions
TIM doesn’t aim to stop now that they’ve managed to deliver on the promise of 5G. The company claims it seeks to offer coverage in up to 200 holiday destinations, 120 cities, and 245 industrial centers by 2021. TIM has been partnering with Ericsson to enhance the performance of their 5G networks and wireless transmission for some time. In December 2019, the partnership brought the first video call to be completed on a 5G network.
More Bandwidth for Use
TIM’s ambitions for 5G in 2020 and beyond aren’t that far-fetched since more of the spectrum will become available for companies to use it for 5G distribution. As more of the spectrum opens up, connections in the 800MHz space and 1000MHz space will allow for more opportunities. Connections in this range will likely do a lot to fulfill the promise of 5G, offering faster connection and lower latency than current mobile networks.
5G Rollouts Continue Worldwide
Despite a few engineers having some concerns about how good 5G is for the general population, telecommunication companies have already started rolling out 5G networks around the world. In the US and UK, speeds haven’t yet passed the 2Gbps standard as yet, but providers remain positive that it’s only a matter of time. In Brazil, the development of 5G networks is being delayed by their bidding process, putting them behind in the international mobile communications race.
