(Telecompaper) Telecom Italia (TIM) and rival Vodafone Italia have signed an agreement to merge their respective mobile tower infrastructure and to jointly deploy 5G networks in both urban and rural areas throughout Italy. At a presentation in Rome attended by TIM's CEO Luigi Gubitosi and his counterpart at Vodafone, Aldo Bisio, the partners said their boards had examined the commercial feasibility of the MoU announced in February and had agreed to extend their existing passive network sharing agreement with an active mobile network sharing deal that will enable them to more efficiently roll out new 5G technology over a wider geographic area and at a lower cost.