The operator TIM in Italy has launched the first connections in the country with XGS-PON technology, where until now they also used GPON as in Spain. This new type of fiber has the trade name “Magnifica”, and offers 10 Gbps downstream and 2 Gbps upstream, so we are not facing a symmetric connection.
49.90 euros for 10 Gbps in Italy
However, the connection is only available in the testing phase for a limited number of users, with a price of 49.90 euros per month with free installation. What does not include free are the calls, which curiously are paid separately. The test is limited to 3,000 clients, who will have to contract the rate before January 30, 2022 if they want to participate in this test.
The service is being tested in eleven cities of the country: Milan, Turin, Trento, Trieste, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Cagliari, Taranto and Brindisi. The tests will be extended at least until February 27, 2022. From there they will launch the service commercially.
In order to enjoy the speed improvements of 10 Gbps, TIM is offering a router with WiFi 6, 8 antennas and 4 × 4 MIMO. We do not know the exact model of the router, but usually the company usually develops its own solutions, so it may not be a business model as Orange and Digi have done in the first deployments, collaborating with Zyxel and ZTE.
The advantage offered by the XGS-PON connectivity is that it is only necessary to make changes in the exchanges to be able to offer this speed improvement for households. At home, all you have to do is change the router, which saves a lot of money, time and effort in carrying out this deployment thanks to the excellent properties of fiber optic connectivity.
France also has 10 Gbps
Other countries in Europe already have this speed. For instance, Free in France already offers this connectivity, and Orange is working on launching the first fiber offers in the country in 2023. Once again, Orange anticipated the launch of this service in Spain against its native France, where they have preferred to prioritize the deployment of GPON fiber to more population to offer XGS-PON to who already have fiber, which makes sense. The deployment in Spain is, in percentage terms, much higher, hence in our country the deployment of 10 Gbps may already begin to be considered.
Outside the European Union, countries like United States, Singapore, South Korea, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Norway They also have 10 Gbps fiber optic deployments, so Spain is at the forefront.