Telefonica became Germany’s third mobile network operator to introduce 5G services
Telefonica became Germany’s third mobile network operator to introduce 5G services on 3 October 2020, when the network was activated in ten cities: Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, Essen and Potsdam.
Telefonica’s 3.6 GHz 5G network will have grown from 450 antennas to over 6,000 to cover more than 30% of the population by the end of 2021. The operator expects to reach around 50% by the end of 2022 and the whole country by 2025. In rural areas, the company will use Dynamic Spectrum Sharing.
Rival operator Vodafone Germany started its 5G network in July 2019. In July 2020, the company announced that its 5G service was available in 160 urban and rural locations across the country via a network of 500 antennas. The firm uses frequencies in both the 3.5GHz and the 700MHz bands to provide 5G to customers, and it plans to increase coverage to ten million people by the end of 2020, rising to 20 million by the end of 2021.
Deutsche Telekom switched on its 5G network on September 5th, 2019, in five German cities. In July 2020, the operator announced that its 5G network covered 40 million Germans, representing half of the population. Services are available in over 3,000 towns and municipalities after a further 18,000 antennas were upgraded for 5G and integrated into the live network. The company announced that it plans to cover two-thirds of the population by the end of 2020.
