Vodafone is to extend its 4G LTE network to eight new cities in Italy this year.
The operator, which has around one-third of Italy's mobile subscribers, started rolling out its 4G network last October in Rome and Milan, and took LTE coverage to a further six cities later that year.
Today's announcement of 4G services for an additional 13 towns and cities - Bergamo, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Ivrea, Livorno, Modena, Pisa, Reggio Calabria, Taranto, Trento, Verona and Venice – takes the total number of Italian cities covered by Vodafone Italia's LTE network to 21.
Vodafone Italia customers can get 4G as a standalone data service for dongles or tablets for €30 per month, or as an add-on for mobile devices at €10 per month.
Among the LTE-friendly handsets on offer are the BlackBerry Z10, the Nokia Lumia 820 and 920, and the Galaxy S3 4G and Note II 4G.
Italy's incumbent telco Telecom Italia – which has around half the country's mobile market – launched its own LTE network late last year in four cities. Since then, it's extended the network to cover a number of other areas, including the cities Bari and Pisa and a handful of tourist hotspots such as the ski resort Cavalese.