German telco Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network already reached 55,000 base stations across Germany, the operator said in a release.
According to the carrier, its 5G network infrastructure currently covers 85% of the German population.
Deutsche Telekom also said it aims to exceed the 90% mark by the end of the year.
Deutsche Telekom noted that its 5G service based on 3.6 GHz frequency is already available in over 60 cities across the country, where the telco already deployed over 2,400 antennas.
Some of the cities where the telco offers 5G via 3.6 GHz spectrum are Aachen, Augsburg, Berlin, Bonn, Braunschweig, Bremen, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt/Main, Hamburg, Hanover, Jena, Kiel, Cologne, Leipzig, Ludwigsburg, Munich, Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, Schwerin, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden and Wolfsburg.
In addition, Deutsche Telekom has also put additional sites into operation in cities that already have 5G coverage on the 3.6 GHz frequency. “Our 5G approach is all about speed and latency. So is urban and rural 5G. We combine frequency bands. And we use the technologies in such a way that our customers have the highest added value,” the telco’s CTO Walter Goldenits said.
Deutsche Telekom currently uses two frequencies for 5G. The high 3.6 GHz frequency enables the fastest download speeds. The high-speed 5G is mainly used in densely populated regions. In addition, Telekom uses the longer-wave 2.1 GHz frequency.
Deutsche Telekom expects to launch its Standalone 5G (SA) network in Germany depending on the use cases for the technology as well as the availability of devices, Goldenits recently said in a blog post.
“If the first use cases are still available in 2021, then 5G Standalone will come in 2021. Otherwise we will jump in 2022 at the latest. We are always ready now, we say. And we look forward to when the first applications and devices arrive that we can start with them,” Goldenits said.
“We are currently operating stand-alone sites in four German cities and are very satisfied with the tests. This technology will unleash the full potential of virtual and augmented reality, mobile gaming and industrial networking. However, various development steps are still necessary before the switchover is complete, as added value for our customers is our top priority – and this added value lies in providing high-speed coverage over as large an area as possible,” Goldenits said.
The telco kicked off the rollout of its 5G network in a limited number of cities across Germany at the beginning of July 2019.
