Buseto Palizzolo in Sicily will be one of the cities at the forefront of the first 5G trials in Europe, thanks to Level7, the company of Paolo di Francesco, a board member of Assoprovider.

The 5G connection trial starts in Buseto Palizzolo, a Sicilian rural community. Bringing the technology of the future is Paolo Di Francesco, advisor of Assoprovider and founder of Level7, the company recently awarded with Flame, an open call, funded by the European Community, within Horizon 2020, to promote 5G experimentation models:

«All models of technology experimentation 5G are today designed for large cities. Yet among the more than 8,000 Italian municipalities, there are many with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants. It goes without saying that all these municipalities cannot replicate city models like Rome, Paris, or New York," explains Paolo Di Francesco.

5G Connection: overturn the model

The 5G connection trial in Buseto Palizzolo is a reversal of the model that can bring benefits, not only in Italy but also in the rest of Europe:

«The problem of the digital divide in rural communities it is not only Italian. In Europe, there are few large cities and many small rural centers. These are communities from which young people often leave due to the lack of services and opportunities. This is leading to the impoverishment of these centers».

Furthermore, the experimentation that Paolo and his company will carry forward in these months also has another noble objective, even more important in a time of crisis of popularity for the European Union:

«Another aspect we have considered is the different perception of the EU that exists today between those living in a large European city and those in a small town.. They perceive Europe as something abstract and distant. We then wondered if it was possible to bring all these European centers into a virtual community., where to share models and practices that do not belong to large cities».

The open call Flame and the role of Level7

The Flame project has identified several cities as testbeds for experiments, including London, Bristol, Barcelona, and Buseto Palizzolo:

«The purpose of Level7 will be to provide a 5G reference infrastructure. (the FLAME project) for Italian and European SMEs who want to experiment with 5G networks and act as intermediaries between the needs of citizens and those of companies."

Paolo tells us how in the initial phase of the experimentation it will be important to involve the citizens of the area, to have them share their problems and the services that technologies can satisfy:

"We will avoid a top-down approach; technology should never be imposed in this way. Through dialogue with citizens, we will experiment with some services and imagine others. Only with an intense activity of experimentation can we then understand what may or may not work and spread the best ideas to other rural communities in Italy and Europe."

5G Network and Opportunities for Providers

At the end of the interview, Paolo talks to us about what the 5G network could represent for independent providers:

"It will allow small and medium-sized enterprises in the TLC sector to increasingly specialize in very niche areas. For providers, moreover, it will be an opportunity to invest more and more in rural communities, by renting the"and licenses from mobile operators that have invested heavily in this technology».