TIM said it switched on of the first 3GPP Rel15 5G site on the 3.5 GHz frequency band in San Marino.

The test of the 5G system will make San Marino the first European country covered by the new 5G technology.

The network plan for the project, whose first stage was completed thanks to the 3.5 GHz frequency band made available by the Government of San Marino, aims to complete 5G coverage by the end of the year.

TIM engineers have installed the 3GPP Rel15 standard radio equipment with Massive-MIMO technology in Faetano location. NOKIA end-to-end solution also allows for the virtualisation of network components and radio access.

TIM and Nokia will start, by the end of September, the installation of the 26 GHz equipment in order to test its potential in the field with 5G terminals equipped with both in the 26.5-27.5 GHz frequency bands, for experimenting with 5G services.

“The installation of the first 3GPP 5G site is the peak of a virtuous cycle of innovation launched by TIM a few years ago,” Elisabetta Romano, chief technology officer at TIM, said in a statement issued on Tuesday.