During 2023, the largest operators in Germany have been focusing on the expansion of their 5G networks, with some operators already offering coverage to more than 90% of the country’s population.
German telco Deutsche Telekom said that its 5G network currently covers 96% of the German population. Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network has 80,000 5G antennas, including over 10,000 antennas transmitting on the 3.6 GHz band in more than 800 cities and municipalities across the country.
The operator’s 5G technology is currently offering download speeds of up to 1 Gbps and that the telco expects to reach 99% of the population in Germany with 5G by 2025.
In August, Deutsche Telekom said it has already connected 83% of all 5G mobile communications locations nationwide with fiber optics.
The telco also said that more than 10,000 5G mobile sites now have fiber optic connections with a speed of 10 Gbits, accounting for around 40% of all 5G mobile radio systems. By 2026, Deutsche Telekom will equip more than 28,000 cell phone sites with high-speed connections at 10 Gbits.
The company also highlighted that 5G antennas on the 3.6 GHz frequency are particularly powerful because they are almost exclusively connected to the transport network with a 10 Gbits connection via fiber optics.
Deutsche Telekom added that the 3.6 GHz frequency band supplements the 5G frequencies in the 700 MHz and 2.1 GHz range, which are already in use nationwide in the Deutsche Telekom network. Especially in densely populated areas, the 3.6 GHz frequencies ensure particularly high download speeds and smooth mobile phone coverage, the carrier said.
Deutsche Telekom confirmed it expects to launch its 5G Standalone (5G SA) offering to private customers in Germany next year.
Meanwhile, Vodafone Germany’s 5G network reached 91% of the country’s population as of the end of 2023.
The operator’s 5G Standalone network (SA) currently serves nearly 45% of the German population, the telco added. Vodafone previously said that 5G SA technology will reach nationwide coverage by 2025.
Vodafone Germany had launched its 5G Standalone network last year in partnership with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Oppo. For the 5G expansion, Vodafone is currently 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.
Also, O2 Telefonica, controlled by Spanish telco Telefónica, said its 5G network currently reaches 95% of Germany’s population.
O2 Telefónica has added 5G technology to around 3,000 locations since the beginning of 2023.
In October, O2 Telefonica announced the launch of its 5G Standalone (SA) network in the country under the 5G Plus brand. Until this launch, the German telco had been offering 5G services through the NonStandalone (NSA) 5G architecture partly via its LTE/4G core network.
The carrier’s 5G Plus uses frequencies in the 700 MHz, 1.8 GHz and 3.6 GHz bands.
The telco said it expects its 5G SA service to reach full coverage in Germany by the end of 2025.
Also, German carrier 1&1 previously said that it aims to provide 5G services to a quarter of German households by the end of 2025 and to half of them by the end of 2030.
In August, 1&1 said it has signed a long-term roaming deal with compatriot operator Vodafone Germany, to enable the provision of 5G service at a national level.
The German carrier said its 5G rollout plan stipulates the provision of approximately 1,200 antenna masts by the end of 2023.
