At the Huawei Day0 forum, the chief technology officer at Telefónica Germany explained that the company was about four years behind the competition when it came to expanding 5G in Germany.
5G is currently available in Germany almost exclusively in large cities and in isolated rural areas. According to Deutsche Telekom, 80% of Germany’s population can now use or reserve Telekom’s 5G network for a fee. Spanish competition Telefónica has been very reluctant to expand 5G in Germany for a long time, admitted Malik Rao, chief technology officer at Telefónica Germany. Speaking at the Huawei Day0 Forum event as part of the Mobile World Congress 2022 in Barcelona, Rao said the mobile network of O2 & Co brands “has lagged behind the competition for three to four years”.
Telefónica sees the gap in Germany’s 5G network has faltered
However, as of 2021, this backlog no longer exists, according to Rao. Telefónica’s 2,300 5G antennas are now transmitted in more than 80 cities in Germany. The Spanish Internet provider with its German brand O2 is mainly based on real 5G, that is, it operates 2300 5G antennas with a frequency of 3.6 GHz. There is another type of 5G network that operates dynamic spectrum sharing and thus combines 4G and 5G and is expanded by most network operators. In order to be able to use 5G with more data bandwidth, users need a smartphone with 5G technology, for example Samsung Galaxy S22.
In addition to 5G for private users, there are also non-public 5G networks. Telefónica Deutschland, for example, is working with network supplier Ericsson to supply its Mercedes-Benz production facility in Sindelfingen with its 5G network. For example, robots and on-site employees can see where a portion of automobile production is currently located. Rao promises that this data should not be visible to third parties.
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Group to expand 5G in Germany:
- Malik Rao, chief technology officer of Telefónica Germany, admitted at MWC 2022 that the mobile network of brands O2 & Co “has lagged behind the competition for three to four years”.
- In the meantime, the gap no longer exists, Rao confirmed. The Spanish telecom provider operates 2,300 5G antennas in more than 80 cities in Germany.
- In addition, the company is currently building a 5G campus network for the production of Mercedes-Benz cars in Sindelfingen.
Sources: Golem, Mercedes-Benz Group
