Press release by TIM

This is a machine translation of the original press release issued in Portugues

Rio de Janeiro, March 18, 2022 – TIM Brasil takes the lead and announces the conclusion of the Core 5G SA implementation process (standalone), a resource that will be essential for offering networks and services to customers from the availability of the 3.5GHz frequency. The first activations, in soft launch format, will be available to the operator's employees and the network tests will continue this month at the company's headquarters, in Rio de Janeiro, on the 2.3 GHz frequency. With this, the operator becomes the first in Latin America to launch Core 5G SA, in accordance with the obligations stipulated by Anatel, reinforcing the company's commitment to offering the best 5G network in the country to its customers.

With a virtualized, private cloud-based core infrastructure, 5G SA is essential for mission-critical applications such as self-driving cars and remote surgery. In addition, it is the basis for initiatives in IoT and M2M (Machine to Machine), sectors that will most benefit from the advantages of technology. 5G SA provides, from very low latencies, the possibility of having a greater number of connected devices, more agile systems and responsible for associated services and network slicing, including more efficient SLA management.

Supported by the experience acquired in the leadership in VoLTE in the country, TIM also starts to enable the Voice service in 5G (VoNR), which provides for the improvement of services that use data and voice simultaneously, after the release of the 3.5 GHz frequency. The operator is the first in Latin America to announce tests with VoNR, within a series of pioneering initiatives to implement the best 5G network in the country.

The Core is the area responsible for the intelligence of the service and the system, ahead of the management of data and voice services. It handles the information received correctly and forwards it to the appropriate service. According to Marco Di Costanzo, Network Director at TIM Brasil , for the final consumer, whether in 4G or 5G, the core is responsible for meeting, for example, the command to access a video service, sending the demand to the final server, while supporting billing and billing on the user's plan. “ For the corporate market, having the Core ready for the 5G SA network is important to enable solutions that will be possible from the availability of the 3.5GHz frequency ”, he explains.

“ Being the first operator in Latin America to offer Core 5G SA is especially important to meet the demands of corporate customers, who will need solutions with high resiliency, very low latency – in the order of 1 millisecond – and ultra-connectivity. 5G SA will enable the revolution in the Internet of Things, and today, we are taking the first step towards addressing the demand for high throughput and reliable IoT. 5G SA allows us to develop customized service offerings for the corporate market, and is essential for generating new revenue opportunities,” says Leonardo Capdeville, CTIO at TIM Brasil.

According to a report released by the GSA in December last year, about 99 operators in 50 countries are investing in 5G SA networks, and at least 20 of them have already launched public networks. Considering the complexity and size of the project, TIM relies on Huawei and Ericsson as suppliers, in a composition that complements the various core systems.

About TIM

“To evolve together with courage, transforming technology into freedom” is the purpose of TIM, an operator with national operations and leader in 4G coverage. Recognized for being at the forefront of important market movements - in line with its signature, "Imagine the possibilities" -, the company is a pioneer in 5G tests in the country and played a leading role in the auction of the new technology, which will revolutionize several segments of the Brazilian economy.

By acting committed to the best environmental, social and governance practices, it integrates important portfolios of the Brazilian stock exchange, such as the Novo Mercado, the S&P/B3 Brasil ESG, the Carbon Efficient Index and the Corporate Sustainability Index. It is listed in the Sustainability Yearbook 2022, which brings together the most sustainable companies in the world, and was the first operator to obtain the “Pro-Ethics” seal from the Comptroller General of the Union and the ISO 37001 certification, against bribery.

TIM values a more diverse and inclusive organizational culture and also works to fight prejudice and raise awareness of the whole society. This performance has already received important recognition: the operator is on the Bloomberg Gender Equity Index and leads, among companies in Brazil and in the global telecom sector, the Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion Index, which measures the performance of more than 11,000 companies. For more information, visit www.tim.com.br.