Showing posts with label Company INWIT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Company INWIT. Show all posts

Tuesday, 25 August 2026

Rome 5G Shows How Neutral Host Infrastructure Can Modernise a Historic City

Deploying better mobile connectivity in a modern city is rarely straightforward. Doing it in Rome, where much of the historic centre is protected and almost every street seems to contain something of archaeological or architectural significance, takes the challenge to another level.

This makes the Roma 5G project particularly interesting from a telecoms infrastructure perspective. Rather than relying simply on more conventional macro sites, the project combines neutral host infrastructure, small cells, fibre, Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), Wi-Fi and IoT infrastructure to improve connectivity while minimising the impact on the city itself.

The project was originally led by Boldyn Networks through a 25-year public-private partnership with Roma Capitale. The original plan included more than 2,200 small cells, public Wi-Fi across 100 squares, around 1,800 IoT modules, 2,000 connected cameras and extensive mobile coverage across the Rome Metro.

One of the biggest challenges is obvious when walking around central Rome. Large towers and conspicuous new infrastructure are simply not suitable in many areas. The Boldyn case study explains that existing urban infrastructure, including lamp posts and bus shelters, could instead be used as mounting locations for small cells. This allows capacity to be placed closer to users while keeping the radio equipment relatively unobtrusive.

This is an increasingly important aspect of mobile network densification. In very busy locations, improving capacity is not necessarily about building another large macro site. A layer of smaller radio nodes, supported by fibre and integrated with existing street furniture, can provide capacity exactly where it is required.

Rome provides an unusually demanding example of this approach because infrastructure deployment also has to coexist with archaeological restrictions, visual-impact requirements and huge numbers of residents and visitors.

The project goes beyond outdoor small cells. The Metro is another major part of the connectivity problem.

The original project envisaged 4G and 5G coverage through the stations and tunnels, creating a shared infrastructure that could be used by the mobile operators. The network uses a multi-operator Distributed Antenna System, with fibre and radio infrastructure carrying the operators' services through the underground environment.

This is important because neutral host infrastructure avoids every operator having to independently install essentially the same physical infrastructure. A shared fibre, DAS and antenna layer can support multiple operators while reducing duplication, construction work, cost and disruption.

The same principle applies above ground. The infrastructure is designed to be open to mobile network operators rather than acting as another competing mobile network. Neutral hosting effectively separates ownership of much of the physical connectivity infrastructure from the retail mobile services running over it.

This is arguably one of the most interesting lessons from Roma 5G.

As networks become denser, particularly in city centres, transport systems, stadiums, airports and other high-footfall locations, it becomes increasingly difficult to justify every operator installing a completely separate set of infrastructure. Shared infrastructure can provide a more practical way of achieving the required density.

The project has evolved considerably since Boldyn published its original case study.

In October 2024, INWIT acquired a controlling 52.08% stake in Smart City Roma, the project company originally known as Boldyn Networks Smart City Roma. Boldyn remained involved in the infrastructure build-out, while Smart City Roma became part of the INWIT Group.

Deployment has also moved from plans into operational infrastructure.

In April 2025, the first nine Metro A stations were activated with multi-operator 4G and 5G coverage, including connectivity through the tunnels between the stations. The infrastructure supports Fastweb-Vodafone, Iliad, TIM and WINDTRE.

By September 2025, coverage had been completed across all 27 stations and tunnels on Metro Line A, using more than 85 km of fibre and around 1,500 mini-antennas. At the same time the city was progressively activating Wi-Fi 6, cameras and other smart-city infrastructure across Rome's public squares.

The rollout has continued during 2026. INWIT reported that by the end of June, work had been completed across Lines B and B1, reaching 48 Metro stations overall, while deployment was under way at seven stations on Line C.

The outdoor network has also continued expanding. By March 2026, infrastructure including public Wi-Fi, IoT systems, cameras and small cells had reached 92 squares, and INWIT subsequently reported free Wi-Fi connectivity across 100 Rome squares during summer 2026.

There is an important distinction here between connectivity infrastructure and smart-city applications.

The network does not automatically make Rome a smart city. What it provides is the digital foundation on which applications can be built. The original plan included connected cameras, environmental sensors and other IoT systems, potentially supporting areas such as traffic management, public safety, environmental monitoring and waste management.

The diagram in the Boldyn case study provides a good summary of this layered approach. It combines indoor coverage for buildings, street-level sensors and cameras, outdoor small-cell coverage, Wi-Fi 6 in public squares, fibre connectivity and 4G/5G DAS throughout the Metro.

The result is therefore much more than a conventional mobile-network rollout.

It is effectively a shared digital infrastructure layer for the city, with different access technologies being used depending on the requirement: macro mobile where appropriate, small cells for street-level capacity, DAS underground, Wi-Fi for public access, fibre for transport and backhaul, and IoT connectivity for municipal applications.

The recently released Threads of Connectivity documentary, featured on National Geographic's digital platforms, looks at the challenge of bringing modern connectivity into two cities whose infrastructure was built long before anyone imagined mobile networks: Rome and New York. The Rome segment is particularly interesting because much of the successful infrastructure is deliberately designed not to be noticed.

That may ultimately be one of the most important lessons from Roma 5G.

As mobile networks continue to densify, the infrastructure supporting them may increasingly need to disappear into the environment rather than dominate it. Small cells integrated into street furniture, shared fibre, multi-operator DAS and neutral-host models make it possible to add significant network capacity while reducing duplication and visual impact.

Rome may be an extreme example because of its history and architecture, but the underlying problem is common to cities everywhere.

The future of urban mobile infrastructure may therefore be less about building more obvious mobile sites and more about creating a dense, shared and largely invisible connectivity layer woven into the city itself.

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Thursday, 12 November 2020

TIM and INWIT to deploy small cells in Italy


INWIT (Italian Wireless Infrastructures) is currently Italy’s major Tower Operator providing widespread coverage throughout the country, hosting the transmission equipment for all main national operators. Back in March, INWIT became the largest tower company in Italy after purchase, by INWIT, of a minority stake of 43.4% of the share capital of Vodafone Towers and for the subsequent merger of the latter into INWIT. 

In a press release last week, TIM and INWIT announced:

TIM and INWIT started a collaboration to deploy small cells in Italy’s major cities in order to make the mobile phone signal more performing and support the development of 5G.

The collaboration will begin in Milan and Genoa where it is expected to install about 100 small cells and will continue in other cities and places with high traffic density, as the support of micro-antennas will be needed to achieve an optimal 5G network.

Small cells are small antennas built and used to integrate the signal that is guaranteed by the systems placed on traditional towers. Despite the spread throughout the territory of traditional macro towers (INWIT has over 22,000 sites) and despite the fact that their number is growing to meet the ever-increasing demand for mobile connections by customers, more and more small cells systems capable of increasing the quality of the signal will be developed in large urban centers.

Small cells play a fundamental role, especially for the development and perfect functioning of 5G and its services. Indeed, this new technology features low latency (a minimum delay between the request and the reception of information) and a data transmission speed ten times faster than previous systems. In order to maintain these characteristics and to allow all connected devices to operate at their best, the quality of the 5G radio signal must always be optimal.

TIM and INWIT have already experimented underground solutions in several municipalities, such as small cells that are inserted in manholes under the road surface that, especially in venues with a remarkable artistic value or in ancient towns, by no means alter the artistic integrity.

It is interesting to see that there there has already been some experimentation with small cells in manhole covers. We have written extensively about it and you can find some of the posts in the references below.

It is also important to point out that in the announcement above, it says: "Small cells are small antennas built and used to integrate the signal that is guaranteed by the systems placed on traditional towers. "

Small Cells definition can be quite loose, so not sure what they mean by this. In the USA, outdoor Small cells is generally used to refer to Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) rather than an all in one unit. It can mean that.

Small cell forum also clarified the definition of 5G small cell that is available here.

TelecomTV in their newsletter on Monday said: "The team at TIM (Telecom Italia) tells us that the small 5G RAN nodes being deployed in partnership with towers firm INWIT will be for TIM’s use only, and that technology from multiple vendors will be used, though the initial rollouts in Milan and Genoa will use small cells supplied by Ericsson. "

Hopefully we will find out more details in the near future.

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