In 2020 the phone operator should start working on 5G, thanks to the agreement signed with Nokia and the installation of new antennas
The year 2020 will be an important year for Iliad: the fourth Italian phone operator will continue in its expansion plan, both in terms of market share and coverage of the proprietary Network. As we have told many times, Iliad is making big investments to become independent and untie itself from Wind-Tre roaming. According to the latest available data, the Iliad network should be composed of about 2000 proprietary installations, constantly growing in recent months. The goal is to cover regional capitals by 2022 and all provincial capitals before the beginning of 2025.
In all this, the talk of 5G remains out. The new superfast network made its debut in Italy in 2019, but for now the only companies to launch offerings have been TIM and Vodafone, with coverage present only in major Italian cities. For many experts, 2020 will be the breakthrough year and Iliad doesn't want to be found unprepared. For this reason, last year it signed an agreement with Nokia for the development of the technology and bought from the auction of the Ministry of Economic Development the frequencies for 5G.
Iliad and 5G: what is expected in 2020
The 2020 could be an important year for Iliad's 5G, not so much to see the first offers (probably we will have to wait until 2021), but to start the work of the Network. The agreement with Nokia allows the Italian phone operator to rely on the Finnish technology to build a super-fast Network on par with other competitors.
In addition, in 2020 the first frequencies that Iliad bought in the auction called by MiSE will also start to be released. The telephone operator managed to win a lot for each available frequency: 700 Mhz, 3700 Mhz and 26GHz. With the work of the digital terrestrial switch-off taking off, Iliad will be able to start setting up its 5G network.
Iliad 5G, what changes for users
Will there be any changes for users with the arrival of Iliad's 5G network? The only real change will be about improving network quality. So only benefits for the customers of the phone operator. Those who have subscribed in recent months an offer Iliad will not see any increase in the monthly subscription and no extra cost.
Iliad 5G, the offers
As for the offers for the 5G of Iliad still do not know anything. The only operators that have launched their 5G tariffs so far have shown much higher costs than 4G subscriptions. Most likely Iliad will also be forced to launch 5G offers with a higher monthly cost than the current tariffs, but it will be able to focus on its own philosophy (no hidden costs, locked price forever) to win over users.