Availability of devices will play a key part in determining Deutsche Telekom’s domestic 5G launch strategy, CEO Timotheus Hoettges announced, adding the operator is working towards a switch-on in 2020.
In a statement, the executive explained Deutsche Telekom will continue to invest heavily in constructing its next-generation network in Germany, where licences are due to be auctioned in 2019. The company plans to pump €5.5 billion per year into the build, Reuters reported.
Hoettges said cooperation on constructing fibre networks will form a key component in deploying 5G in Germany, noting the latter technology will be an important element in terms of adding value for Deutsche Telekom’s customers, the news agency stated.
The comments come a matter of days after Deutsche Telekom and Telefonica revealed an agreement to connect around 5,000 of the latter’s base stations to Deutsche Telekom’s existing fibre network in Germany, a move the operator said will enable it to “dedicate the captured synergy effects directly” to its own network expansion and lay the foundations for 5G rollouts.
But Hoettges also said a broader consensus on 5G is needed to ensure Europe catches up to nations including China, South Korea and the US, which are widely tipped to be among the first to deploy commercial networks.
German politicians last month came under fire from regulator Bundesnetzagentur over calls for operators to provide countrywide 5G networks, a requirement included in draft plans for an auction of spectrum in the 2GHz and 3.6GHz frequencies.
The regulator believes such a goal would be “excessively costly” and that operators should first focus on covering key transport routes and rural areas.
Source: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/top-three/deutsche-telekom-targets-2020-5g-launch/