German carrier Deutsche Telekom expects to end this year with a total of 450 5G base stations across the country, German press reported.
By the end of next year, the number of 5G sites is expected to climb to nearly 1,500, according to the report.
During next year, Deutsche Telekom aims to provide the technology in the country’s 16 state capital cities.
Deutsche Telekom kicked off the rollout of its 5G network in a limited number of cities across Germany at the beginning of July. Currently, Telekom’s 5G network is available in Berlin, Bonn, Darmstadt, Munich and Cologne. The cities of Hamburg, Frankfurt and Leipzig are expected to receive the technology by the end of 2019.
“Through our 5G expansion, we want to enable our customers to really experience the new technology right from the start. That’s why we rely on contiguous areas, instead of heavily distributed individual spots,” said Telekom Germany CTO Walter Goldenits
The operator is also planning to deploy up to 10,000 new LTE sites throughout Germany within the next four years, half of which are to be deployed in rural areas. Deutsche Telekom also said that it aims to extend LTE coverage to 98% of the population by the end of the year.
The carrier said that nearly 75% of the roughly 30,000 Telekom mobile sites are technologically ready for 5G.
In June, the German government announced the completion of the auction for 2 GHz and 3.6 GHz mobile spectrum, in which Deutsche Telekom committed to pay EUR 2.2 billion for 130 megahertz of spectrum in both 5G bands.
Earlier this week, the German operator decided to put on hold all the agreements related to 5G networks, as the company awaits the government’s final word on potential security concerns over Chinese vendor Huawei, according to a Reuters report.
“In light of the unclear political situation, we are not currently entering into any 5G contracts with any vendor,” Deutsche Telekom said. “We are currently informing vendors of this.”
Huawei has been involved in a 5G pilot project with Deutsche Telekom in the city of Berlin.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, of ruling party CDU, is in favor of allowing Huawei to supply components for Germany’s 5G networks, according to previous reports. However, last month, a group of over 80 officials of the CDU party presented a motion at the party’s annual convention against Huawei’s participation in building 5G networks
The German government recently finalized rules for the deployment of 5G mobile networks in the country, which would not exclude Huawei Technologies. Government officials have confirmed, however, that the country’s “security catalogue” will involve evaluation of technical and additional criteria. However, no single vendor would be barred.
“We hope that we will get political clarity for Germany’s 5G buildout as soon as possible, so that we do not fall behind,” Deutsche Telekom said.
