WindTre and Ericsson activate Italy's first 5G standalone network

WindTre and Ericsson have switched on what they say is Italy’s first 5G standalone (SA) mobile network, marking a technical shift from earlier 5G services that still relied on 4G infrastructure. The SA setup uses a new core network built for 5G, which is meant to improve latency, support more connected devices and enable services such as network slicing.

The launch is framed by the companies as a step in Italy’s broader digital upgrade, aimed at industrial users as well as consumers. Details on coverage, commercial availability, and specific use cases remain limited to their announcement, which presents the activation mainly as a foundational move for future services rather than an immediate change most customers will notice.