Germany’s biggest operator, Deutsche Telekom, has announced a new initiative that seeks to rapidly expand 5G availability throughout the country, hoping to hit more than 50% of the population this year.
The dramatic increase in population coverage will come as the result of a technical upgrade to pre…
Germany’s biggest operator, Deutsche Telekom, has announced a new initiative that seeks to rapidly expand 5G availability throughout the country, hoping to hit more than 50% of the population this year.
The dramatic increase in population coverage will come as the result of a technical upgrade to pre-existing network antennas, optimising them for future technologies, as well as incorporating much anticipated dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS).
Tests of these upgrades are currently ongoing in a number of locations around the country, with the intention of wider deployment soon to follow upon completion.
At the heart of this upgrade is the additional spectrum soon to come into use for Deutsche Telekom’s LTE and 5G networks, courtesy of their own 3G network. Five megahertz from the operator’s 3G spectrum in the 2.1GHz band will soon become available for use in its faster networks, significantly increasing the range of 5G antennas previously limited to shorter-range high-band spectrum.
"We are travelling throughout Germany to test this 5G variant in our network," said Walter Goldenits, Deutsche Telekom's head of technology in Germany. "The test sites will then be the blueprint for Germany to supply more than half of the population in the Telekom network with 5G this year.”
The number of new 5G high-speed antennas, which are currently deployed in eight cities, will continue to be increased alongside the upgrade’s implementation.
Alongside this announcement came Deutsche Telekom’s commitment to a continual improvement of LTE, especially for rural regions.
"LTE and 5G – both technologies are gaining ground. While the 5G network continues to grow, LTE is also becoming even stronger," said Goldenits.
Deutsche Telekom is currently aiming for 99% of the German population to have access to 5G by 2025.
What impact is DSS having on operators spectrum needs and RAN deployment? Find out from the experts at this year’s Total Telecom Congress
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