Telefonica Deutschland has announced that it will launch its 5G network on 3 October in the five largest German cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne. Private customers with a compatible 5G device and tariff will be able to start using commercial services on 6 October at no extra charge, with business customers set to ‘follow soon’. Initially around 150 base stations will be live, allowing nine million people to experience 5G services at maximum speeds of 300Mbps from launch.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, Telefonica acquired 70MHz of 3.6GHz spectrum for EUR1.04 billion (USD1.2 billion) at auction in June 2019. The firm said it would initially use the newly acquired spectrum to supply urban areas and industrial sites with 5G. Telefonica plans on reaching 30 cities with its 5G network by end-2022, covering a total of 16 million people.