German telecom operator O2 Telefonica, controlled by Spanish telco Telefónica, said its 5G network currently reaches 82% of Germany’s population. In a release, the carrier said it had deployed a total of 1,000 5G sites in the first quarter of the year.
Mallik Rao, chief technology and information officer of O2 Telefónica, commented: “We are investing massively in an ever better O2 mobile network. We provide over 99% of the population with mobile broadband via 4G. We are closing even more white spots and further expanding our 5G network. This year we are densifying our 5G network in cities and rural areas to further improve the 5G customer experience. We’re making sure consumers and businesses can connect reliably every day.”
In the first quarter of this year, 200 5G sites operating on the 3.6 Ghz frequency were deployed in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Essen, Munich and Magdeburg, among other cities.
O2 Telefónica also said it already offers 5G on the 700 MHz frequency band at around 600 locations across Germany. By the end of 2023, O2 Telefónica will cover 90% of the country’s population with 5G while full nationwide coverage is expected to be reached in 2025.
O2 Telefónica said that while it is ready to deploy a nationwide 5G Standalone (SA) network, it will only fully activate the infrastructure once 5G SA offers real added value for customers, and when enough devices in the market support 5G SA.
Rival operator Deutsche Telekom recently said its 5G network already reaches 95% of the country’s population.
The telco has said that it expects that its 5G technology could reach 99% of the Germany population by 2025. Deutsche Telekom also highlighted that more than 80,000 antennas are currently transmitting 5G, of which around 8,200 antennas are already providing the technology via the 3.6 GHz band.
In June last year, Deutsche Telekom announced it was for the first time using spectrum in the 700 MHz range to provide 5G service. The European operator said that the use of the 700 MHz band improve mobile communications coverage in rural areas across Germany.
With this latest addition, the telco is already offering 5G services via three different frequencies. In addition to the 700 MHz frequency, there are two other radio bands: 2.1 GHz and 3.6 GHz.
Vodafone Germany aims to activate 2,700 new 5G sites with a total of 8,000 antennas in the first half of 2023.
During 2022, Vodafone technicians commissioned 5,450 5G sites with more than 16,000 antennas. The carrier said its 5G network is already providing coverage to 65 million people across the country, representing nearly 80% of Germany’s population.
Source: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20230405/5g/o2-telefonica-5g-infra-reaches-82-germany-population