The 5G data roaming interconnection was established between TIM and Etisalat, partly in preparation for Expo 2020 Dubai (pictured).
Sparkle, Italy’s first international service provider has established a 5G data roaming link between TIM and Etisalat.
It relied on its IP Packet eXchange (IPX) platform and monitoring tools and proximity connections provided by its Diameter signalling solution for the link.
Sparkle said the unspecified speed, low latency link will provide resilient 5G data connectivity between Italy and the United Arab Emirates for TIM and Etisalat customers.
More than flash in the pan?
“Sparkle confirms its leadership in the roaming sector with mobile solutions ensuring top quality and time to market,” said Mario Di Mauro, CEO of Sparkle.
He added, “5G will open a new wave of services and opportunities, and our ambition is to be forerunners in helping mobile operators to satisfy customers’ needs [in] providing the same service level they experience at home…when visiting another country.”
Declining revenues
Di Mauro was appointed CEO of Sparkle as part of TIM Group’s Strategic Plan in February, designed to relaunch the entire Group. He was formally Chief Innovation Officer at TIM.
Sparkle was set up in 2003 to develop and consolidate and TIM Group’s global solutions business, but when the Group reported its results for the previous financial year last month, it said revenues were down by 3.4% year on year to €9 billion which was “entirely attributable to Sparkle’s international voice traffic.
“Excluding this component and product revenues, the change in service revenues falls to 1.2% YoY.”