German operator Deutsche Telekom expects to deploy 5G technology in 14 additional cities this year to reach its goal of rolling out this technology in at least 20 of the largest German cities by the end of 2020.
In a conference call with investors, the carrier’s CEO Timotheus Höttges said Deutsche Telekom aims to cover half of the country with 5G during this year.
“We will switch on 5G in 2.1GHz in at least half of Germany already this year. 2.1 GHz is excellent for 5G because this spectrum range combines speed with good propagation,” the executive said.
“We will have the top 20 cities covered with 3.6 GHz. Going forward, we will leverage other spectrum ranges, such as 700 MHz frequencies. So we have a mix of low band, mid band [and] high band, which is, compared to my competition, significantly better, and we will roll out faster than anybody else. So comparing the commitments of Vodafone with ours, we will have four times more coverage already by the end of the year with regard to 5G,” Höttges added.
In April, the operator said it was working to expand 5G coverage across the country, highlighting that the rapid deployment is made possible by a technical upgrade for existing antennas in the carrier’s network. The telco said that it is currently carrying out field trials of dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) technology.
Deutsche Telekom kicked off the rollout of its 5G network in a limited number of cities across Germany at the beginning of July 2019. Currently, Telekom’s 5G network is available in Berlin, Bonn, Darmstadt, Munich, Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Leipzig.
Deutsche Telekom expected to end 2019 with a total of 450 5G base stations across the country, according to previous press reports. By the end of 2020, the number of 5G sites is expected to climb to nearly 1,500.
The German carrier also said that Greek operator Cosmote is working to progressively upgrade its mobile network for the future launch of 5G. Cosmote, the mobile arm of Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE), which is part of the Deutsche Telekom Group, is targeting 2021 for the commercial launch of 5G services. That will follow the expected auction of 5G spectrum by Greece’s National Telecommunications and Post Commission (EETT) in the fourth quarter of 2020.
T‑Mobile Polska is also focusing on the deployment of 5G infrastructure, with 800 base stations in Warsaw ready. The 5G network is set to include 1,600 base stations in five Polish cities by the end of the first half of 2020.
Deutsche Telekom also said that at the 5G auction in Hungary, Magyar Telekom was able to secure the usage rights for its preferred frequency blocks in the 700, 2,100, and 3,400 to 3,800 MHz bands, establishing the basis for offering commercial 5G services from the beginning of April 2020.
Meanwhile, Magenta Telekom, also owned by Deutsche Telekom, is making 5G infrastructure available in Vienna for the first 5G applications. Magenta Telekom has upgraded 11 base stations in the Austrian capital and delivers 5G to parts of seven of the city’s districts. To date, the 5G network across Austria is comprised of 58 antennas in 31 municipalities with new base stations.
