Italy: geography and layout
The Val d'Agri area in Basilicata hosts the largest onshore hydrocarbon field in Europe, so upstream work extends to the south of the country as well as offshore.
The IS-04Z1 is an intrinsically safe Android handset designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21, built for the refineries, petrochemical poles and gas terminals from Porto Marghera to Priolo and Sarroch. This page sets out how a rugged smartphone supply route to Italy will work for the IS-04Z1, and what is and is not available before launch.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. A rugged smartphone for Italy cannot be bought yet: the SAMS IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued), and the datasheet, certification schedule and safe-area evaluation units are available now.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted for Q4 2026. Operator approval runs on its own timeline. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Ingress protection | IP65 to IP68 sealing | IP68 design |
| Drop and shock | A stated drop height onto concrete | Specification on request |
| Explosion protection | A separate certificate and marking | In progress; not issued |
| Where it applies | Italy: Taranto, Brindisi, Priolo, Melilli and Augusta | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Italy. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
The classified areas, operators and sites below are the ones covered in the SAMS Italy market guide.
The Val d'Agri area in Basilicata hosts the largest onshore hydrocarbon field in Europe, so upstream work extends to the south of the country as well as offshore.
Moderate natural gas reserves have been found mainly in the Po Valley and offshore in the Adriatic Sea, which concentrates gas production and processing in the north and east.
Hydropower was practically the only source of electricity until 1960, and all of Italy's active geothermal plants are in Tuscany, so dam and geothermal sites sit alongside oil and gas facilities.
Eni, which operates in 79 countries, is counted among the world's seven oil and gas supermajors, so Italian refineries and gas sites often follow large-operator procedures for contractors and equipment.
A rugged phone is built to survive water, dust, drops and rough handling, usually rated by an IP code and a drop specification. Ruggedness is an environmental property: it says nothing about whether a phone may be used where flammable gas or dust is present. That is decided by explosion-protection certification and marking.
The IS-04Z1 combines both: an IP68 sealed rugged build and a design for Zone 1 and Zone 21 (marking target Ex ib IIC T4). The explosion-protection certificates are in progress and none has been issued.
In Italy. Italian coastal and island sites face summer heat, humidity and salt air. IP68 sealing helps with water and dust ingress and with washdown. It is not explosion protection, which must come from certification and the Ex marking. Battery behaviour in Sicilian or Sardinian summer heat should be tested on a trial unit.
Nothing can be bought for Italy today: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch, and SAMS will supply end users through authorised distributors once certificates exist. What a buyer can do now is take the specification, ask for the written certification schedule and arrange a safe-area evaluation, so that the right local channel contacts you at launch.
The technical specification, marking target and conditions of use, sent by email.
Which certificates are in progress, in what order, and what is still to be confirmed.
Evaluation units can be used for connectivity, MDM enrolment and workflow testing outside classified areas.
Tell us the site, zone, gas group and quantity so the right authorised distributor can contact you.
No. Nothing can be bought or taken into a classified area today: certification is in progress and launch is planned for Q4 2026. What is available now is the datasheet, the written certification schedule and evaluation units for safe-area use.
SAMS has not published a price. Any figure you are offered for an uncertified Ex phone should be treated with caution; written indicative pricing is available for a defined quantity and site.
It is designed to IP68 sealing, with glove-friendly controls. Ruggedness is not explosion protection: that depends on the certificates, which are in progress.
The market guide for Italy covers Priolo, Melilli and Augusta, Gela, Milazzo, Sarroch, among others. Site-level pages are linked below.
Through authorised distributors once certificates exist. Until then SAMS can send the datasheet and certification schedule and arrange safe-area evaluation units.
Italy applies ATEX Directive 2014/34/EU as an EU member, and employers zone workplaces under Directive 1999/92/EC. Devices for Zone 1 and Zone 2 should carry CE and Ex markings with Italian-language instructions where required. Operators usually add their own approval and permit procedures.
The Val d'Agri area in Basilicata hosts the largest onshore hydrocarbon field in Europe, and the Po Valley and offshore Adriatic hold moderate gas reserves. Refineries, fuel terminals and gas stations add downstream sites. Confirm site lists with the operator.
The market guide says teams can test a unit through a fermata while certification runs. Trial terms and site access are set by the plant operator, and a unit would need to be accepted for the zones it enters. Ask the operator's HSE team before arranging a trial.
Related guides for Italy and for Italy.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Name the site and the operator and we will send what is available before launch.