According to DCD, Nokia has landed a significant three-year 5G network modernization deal with Telecom Italia, Italy’s largest telecom operator serving over 36 million mobile subscribers. The agreement focuses on expanding TIM’s 5G coverage to smaller towns and rural areas to tackle Italy’s digital divide. Nokia will deploy its AI-ready AirScale Radio Access Network portfolio including Habrok 32 Massive MIMO radios and Pandion FDD multi-band remote radio heads. The vendor will also supply its Lodos baseband products offering enhanced scalability and reduced energy consumption. Additionally, Nokia will implement its AI-powered MantaRay network optimization system and provide deployment, maintenance, and support services leveraging artificial intelligence.
What this means for Italy
This is actually a pretty big deal for Italy’s connectivity landscape. TIM first launched 5G back in 2019, but like many European countries, Italy has struggled with the urban-rural digital divide. Basically, if you’re in Milan or Rome, you’re probably fine. But venture into smaller towns or rural areas? Not so much.
Here’s the thing – this isn’t just about faster Netflix streaming. The real impact is on businesses, healthcare, and education in areas that have been left behind. When you’re talking about industrial transformation and sustainable growth, as TIM’s CEO mentioned, you need reliable connectivity everywhere. And for companies that rely on industrial computing solutions, this expanded network could be a game-changer for remote monitoring and automation applications.
Nokia’s comeback story
Remember when Nokia was basically the phone company? Those days are long gone, but they’ve been quietly building a serious networking business. This TIM deal is another win in their European 5G portfolio, and it shows they’re competing effectively against Ericsson and Huawei.
The AI angle is particularly interesting. Nokia’s pushing hard on the “AI-ready” and “AI-powered” messaging, which makes sense given everyone’s obsession with artificial intelligence right now. But it’s not just marketing fluff – their MantaRay system actually does use machine learning to optimize network performance and reduce operational costs. For TIM, that could mean significant savings in energy and maintenance over the three-year contract.
The bigger picture
So why does this matter beyond Italy? Europe’s been playing catch-up in the 5G race compared to parts of Asia and even the US. Deals like this show that major European telcos are still investing heavily in infrastructure despite economic headwinds.
And let’s be honest – the digital divide isn’t just an Italian problem. It’s a global challenge. If Nokia can demonstrate success with this rural expansion approach in Italy, you can bet they’ll be pitching similar solutions across Europe and beyond. The combination of massive MIMO for capacity and AI for efficiency could become their winning formula.
What’s really telling is that both companies are talking about this as a partnership rather than just a vendor-customer relationship. That suggests we’re likely to see more collaborative developments coming out of this deal, potentially setting the stage for future 6G research and deployment down the line.