Deutsche Telekom has completed the rollout of its 5G-ready LTE-M network across Germany, the carrier said in a release.
The German operator said that LTE-M technology is now commercially available in both postpaid and prepaid IoT offerings, including its Business Smart Connect LPWA and M2M tariffs. To secure interoperability, Deutsche Telekom already completed first certifications of a number of LTE-M chipsets and modules.
“LTE-M gives our customers the opportunity to develop new solutions where previous technologies had their limitations,” says Rami Avidan, CEO of Deutsche Telekom IoT. “The technology is a firm part of our overall IoT network portfolio. It is 5G-ready and therefore future-proof – ideally positioned to drive innovation for the Internet of Things even further.”
The telco noted that LTE-M enables new use cases across a multitude of industry sectors, most notably in the areas of smart city, wearables, e-health and smart tracking.
Deutsche Telekom said that the LTE-M technology is a natural extension of its mobile IoT strategy. It is specifically designed for IoT connectivity and combines the advantages of both NB-IoT and earlier LTE technologies, the carrier noted. In comparison to NB-IoT, LTE-M offers higher data rates lower latency, connected mobility and SMS support. In comparison to legacy M2M technologies like 2G, 3G and standard LTE, LTE-M offers optimized energy consumption and superior indoor coverage, Deutsche Telekom said.
Deutsche Telekom and its roaming partner Orange in France and Belgium have agreed to activate LTE-M roaming across their respective networks. Roaming is available bilaterally between Germany and France as of July 22, while roaming between Germany and Belgium will be added within the next few weeks.
Deutsche Telekom kicked off the rollout of its 5G network in a limited number of cities across Germany at the beginning of July 2019.
The telco previously said that a total of 40 million people throughout Germany will be reached by the operator’s 5G network by mid-July.
Deutsche Telekom previously said expects to deploy 5G technology in 14 large 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.
