Vodafone said that VoNR will be gradually activated in additional Germany cities in the near future
Vodafone Germany has activated Voice over New Radio (VoNR) technology for 5G users in Frankfurt, Leipzig and parts of Düsseldorf, the telco said in a release.
The telco said that customers using Samsung S23 smartphones can now also make calls via 5G using this technology, which converts voice signals into data packets that are transmitted within the 5G network.
The company also noted that it will gradually expand this technology to other cities across Germany, adding that additional smartphones will also support VoNR in the near future.
“We are expanding our 5G network across the board and we are improving it by unlocking new technologies. We activated this technology at more than 300 cell phone sites. The technology upgrade saves smartphone batteries, connects us faster with each other and increases the voice quality,” said Vodafone network boss Tanja Richter.
Vodafone Germany had previously said it aimed to activate 2,700 new 5G sites with a total of 8,000 antennas in the first half of 2023.
The carrier said its 5G network is already providing coverage to 67 million people across the country, representing nearly 81% of Germany’s population.
The telco also noted that its 5G Standalone network is currently available to nearly 25 million people across Germany. Vodafone previously said that 5G SA technology will reach nationwide coverage by 2025.
Since the beginning of 2023, Vodafone has set up 292 new LTE stations and 77 5G stations across Germany. New LTE or 5G technology was also installed in more than 1,170 existing stations. In total, Vodafone said it has already equipped 41,000 antennas with 5G technology. These include 4,200 5G sites with around 12,500 5G SA antennas.
Last year, Vodafone Germany launched its 5G Standalone (SA) network in partnership with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Oppo.
For the 5G expansion, Vodafone is relying on frequencies in the 3.6 GHz, 1.8 GHz and 700 MHz bands in large urban areas, residential areas and suburbs, and rural areas across Germany.
Vodafone initially launched its 5G network in Germany in 2019, using 3.5 GHz frequencies that it acquired from Telefónica in 2018.
Vodafone Germany had previously completed a field test with Open RAN (O-RAN) technology in Plauen, in the Saxony region.
The Germany carrier had announced that it will carry out comprehensive pilot projects for open 5G radio access networks at several locations in Germany.
The pilot projects will use O-RAN hardware and software, which Vodafone successfully tested in the U.K. earlier this year. Samsung is currently supplying mobile technology and software for these O-RAN trials.
