Deutsche Telekom announced a network partnership with Telefonica in October 2018 and an eight-point plan on 5G for Germany.
Mid-October 2018, Deutsche Telekom disclosed its eight-point plan on 5G for Germany. It also announced a network partnership with Telefonica in October 2018. Five months earlier, it started testing 5G in downtown Berlin.
At a press conference, the mobile player published its eight-point plan on 5G for Germany and recalled recent major steps towards 5G introduction in Germany. Main topics raised include:
- Deutsche Telekom invested 5.5 billion EUR per year in investment and reaffirmed its will to maintain this level. The German incumbent also called on cooperation, on building the German fiber-optic network, critical for 5G, on the German industry to share forces on 5G coverage and also called on a faster digitalisation for administration.
- Deutsche Telekom aims at covering 99% of the population with 50 Mbps by 2020 (and 100 Mbps by 2022) and 1 Gbps where needed, 99% of the population and 90% of the country with 5G by 2022. Deutsche Telekom also announced it intends to build 2,000 new mobile sites per year (4 times more than initial plans).
- The Deutsche Telekom’s German mobile network is 80% 5G-ready as of October 2018: around 22,000 of its 27,000 mobile sites were connected to high-speed fiber-optic lines and using single RAN (radio access network) systems that allow different radio standards to run on the same hardware.
The Eight-point plan in short:
- High performance mobile communications infrastructure
- 99% population coverage with 50 Mbps by 2020
- Double the bandwidth to 100 Mbps by YE 2022
- 99% population coverage and 90% geographical coverage with 5G by 2022. Where needed 1 Gbps. Full coverage along transport roads (highways, federal roads, and railways)
- 5G network in operation in Berlin: Earlier in May 2018, Deutsche Telekom lighted six cells with 5G-NR antennas using 3.7 GHz testing licences in downtown Berlin and opened a 5G cluster. Five months after, on October 10th, 2018, Deutsche Telekom reaffirmed the 2020 target for its 5G commercial launch in Germany in line with the European Commission 5G Action Plan when handsets will be available in “sufficient numbers”.
- The largest fiber-optic network in Germany
- 500,000 km of fiver-optic, +60,000 km/year
- 22,000 LTE site already connected to fiber-optic
- Faster mobile build-out
- 2,000 new mobile sites/year: 4 times more than originally planned.
- 10,000 smaller radio cells
- Shared use of infrastructure
- fiber-optic network opened to other providers especially in rural areas.
- Agreement with Telefónica/O2. Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica Deutschland have been partners for many years: the two companies concluded a mobile backhaul contract in 2011. This new partnership builds on the old one and expand it. In the long-term, the two mobile operators plan to connect at least Telefonica’s 5,000 base stations to Deutsche Telekom’s domestic fiber-optic network. Existing base stations will be upgraded to 5G with cost savings made.
- Goal of no white spots.
- Developing a 5G infrastructure together with German industry
- Faster digitalization for administration
Together with the Fraunhofer Institute, Acatech, and Städte- und Gemeindetag (German Association of Towns and Municipalities) - Faster networks for people living in Germany
Thanks to 5G, people in Germany will be able to enjoy significantly faster networks and higher transmission speeds – both mobile and at home. In urban centers and rural areas alike. - A clear investment undertaking
investment in Germany: 5.5 billion EUR/year (excl. acquisition of spectrum).
