Deutsche Telekom noted that around 99% of households can already access its 5G network
In sum – what to know:
132 new sites added – Deutsche Telekom expanded its network footprint across key German states, including North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Baden-Württemberg.
533 existing locations upgraded – Capacity expansions included first-time 5G activation at 128 sites, driving higher data throughput and reduced latency.
99% 5G household coverage – The carrier now combines low- and mid-band frequencies for national reach and gigabit speeds.
German telecom operator Deutsche Telekom expanded its mobile network in August adding a total of 132 new mobile radio sites across the country.
In a release, the operator also said it has also increased capacity at 533 existing sites during the month. 5G technology was connected for the first time at 128 of these sites.
Most new locations were commissioned in North Rhine-Westphalia (24), followed by Bavaria (23) and Baden-Württemberg (22). In terms of capacity expansions at existing locations, North Rhine-Westphalia led the list (151), followed by Baden-Württemberg (112) and Bavaria (91).
The telco also noted that around 99% of households can already access Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network, while LTE coverage currently reaches almost 100% of households across Germany.
Deutsche Telekom said it is building an ultra-high-capacity network. A combination of measures will double the capacity of the network, the telco said, adding that 90% of the locations will offer a download capacity of 1 gigabit per second per cell.
The telco highlighted that all locations will use low-band frequencies (700, 800, and 900 MHz) in the future, as they offer long range and good network coverage – even in buildings. “They form the basis for seamless mobile network coverage. 90% of the locations will also receive mid-band frequencies (1,500 MHz, 1,800 MHz, and 2.1 GHz). These enable high transmission rates and fast response times. They are the key performance drivers in the mobile network. The 3.6 GHz band will be used specifically at traffic hubs,” Deutsche Telekom added.
The telco previously 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 Gbps connection via fiber optics. The telco noted 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 had previously made private 5G available in millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum at 26 GHz for the first time in Germany. It claimed the band allows for round-trip latencies of three to four milliseconds and download and upload data rates of more than four and two gigabits per second, respectively. It is offering mmWave support as part of its ‘campus network’ offer, which has until now used the dedicated 3.7-3.8 GHz mid-band spectrum in Germany.
