EOLO currently covers over 7,000 municipalities across Italy with more than 4,100 BTS (radio transmitters), and connects 1.6 million people, as well as 116,000 businesses, public administrations, and professionals.

Under a four-year agreement, Nokia will supply equipment to EOLO from its 5G AirScale portfolio including AirScale baseband solutions, Massive MIMO radios, and Remote Radio Head products.

The new RAN equipment is all powered by Nokia's ReefShark System-on-Chip technology and will include Shikra mmWave radios.

High capacity mmWave 5G radios like Shikra are well-suited for dense, urban environments such as malls or stadiums and support services such as real-time multi-user ultra-high-definition video streaming or augmented reality.

According to Nokia, its Shikra mmWave solution also delivers FWA services to rural or underserved communities where traditional wired infrastructure may be impractical or expensive to deploy.

Included in the solution is a Nokia FastMile 5G mmWave outdoor receiver to connect homes to the mmWave network, enabling the delivery of ultra-fast wireless broadband services in areas where fibre can't be easily deployed.

“This is clear evidence of our ambition to build a FWA network able to offer the best experience for our customers (retail, business and wholesale), reaching all the areas of our country not connected by FTTH technology," said Guido Garrone, CEO at EOLO.

"Together with Nokia and the other partners involved in the deal, we will be able to bring FWA connectivity up to 1 Gbps to the whole Italian market.

"By installing a new 5G infrastructure, we will see the further development of our FWA network that will continue to improve the experience for our customers as well as bridge digital divide and digital speed divide.”

Tommi Uitto, President of Mobile Networks at Nokia described the agreement EOLO as an important new deal that will introduce innovative connectivity experiences across Italy and help to connect underserved communities.

"In particular, the introduction of 5G mmWave solutions from our industry-leading AirScale and FastMile portfolio’s will enable premium 5G capacity and connectivity with the highest quality of service for subscribers,” Uitto said.