Mobile network operator Vodafone is making progress in expanding its 5G network. The company announced on Tuesday that 13,000 additional 5G antennas had been activated in the network since the beginning of the year. This means that over 34,000 5G transmitters are now transmitting in the Vodafone network. According to the network operator, it reaches around 55 million people in the country.
At Vodafone, as at Telekom, most of the 5G expansion is being carried out with Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), in which LTE and 5G share the available frequencies. 5G uses an LTE anchor frequency for the connection to the core network. The advantage of this method is that 5G can be expanded relatively quickly and easily across the board.
5G+ aka Standalone
But Vodafone is also making progress with the expansion of “pure” 5G. 5G Standalone (5G SA) does not require anchor frequencies, but new antennas must be installed for the expansion. Vodafone calls it “5G+” and, according to the information, already reaches around 15 million people in the country.
“We are building new stations, modernizing existing antenna technology and enabling 5G at more and more locations,” says Vodafone’s head of technology Tanja Richter. “In many places we are completely decoupling our 5G network from the existing infrastructure, bringing lightning-fast response times to the network.”
Vodafone is also expanding LTE to expand capacities and close dead spots. Since the beginning of the year, the company has completed 4,200 construction projects, with a further 3,000 expected by the end of the year. By mid-2023, Vodafone also wants to set up twelve new masts in the Bavarian Alps to improve mobile coverage there.
This is also reflected in the amount of data that is transported through the network. Because of 5G, the network operator expects further acceleration. In the 5G network, Vodafone is now transporting around eight times more data than a year ago: According to the information, it was 1,500 terabytes in the last week of June alone.
Telekom and Telefónica are also building
Meanwhile, the competition is not standing idle. Deutsche Telekom has expanded its mobile offering at 855 locations nationwide in recent weeks. In addition to 194 new LTE locations, the Bonn-based company has provided additional capacities at 538 locations and expanded 5G at 123 locations.
Telekom is also expanding mainly with DSS and is now making 5G available at 3.6 MHz at over 2000 locations in metropolitan areas. “Currently more than 100,000 antennas are transmitting at more than 34,000 locations in the Telekom network,” says Telekom Technology Director Walter Goldenits. Spectrum at 700 MHz is also used. By 2025, 99 percent of households should be able to surf Telekom’s 5G network.
According to Telefónica Deutschland (O2), half of the population has been supplied with a 5G network since June. “We have thus achieved our 5G expansion target for 2022 six months earlier than planned,” says CEO Markus Haas. By the end of the year, Telefónica now expects 60 percent coverage in the population. The people of Munich also want to offer 5G to the entire population by the end of 2025.
There are currently over 14,000 5G antennas in the O2 network, around 6,000 of which operate on the 3.6 GHz frequency. In addition, Telefónica is relying on the 700 MHz spectrum for expansion, with which 5G is also offered in more rural regions. The network operator only uses DSS on 1800 MHz as a supplement.
Network operators like to talk about coverage in the population and prefer not to say anything about area coverage. According to figures from the Federal Network Agency from April, Telekom supplies almost 90 percent of the area of the Federal Republic with LTE, Vodafone 87 percent and O2 almost 85 percent. Telekom covers 46 percent of the area with 5G and 41 percent for Vodafone. O2, which started the expansion later and uses less DSS, accounts for almost 12 percent of the area.
1&1 in the starting blocks
Meanwhile, a fourth network operator is ready to set up its own network. 1&1 bought spectrum for LTE and 5G at the 2019 frequency auction. One of the Federal Network Agency’s expansion requirements is that the newcomer must put the first 1,000 5G antenna sites into operation by the end of the year. The construction of the network is scheduled to begin in the current third quarter of 2022.
1&1 is building its 5G network with Open RAN and is relying on the know-how of the Japanese Rakuten Group. In the meantime, the new network operator has secured numerous locations from American Tower and Vantage Towers, and a Dortmund service provider is developing its own antenna systems. The sister company Versatel and various regional carriers ensure the connection.
To start network operations, 1&1 will initially offer a stationary mobile phone connection for households (Fixed Wireless Access, FWA). The new 1&1 network is to be opened up for mobile phones in the coming year. A roaming agreement with Telefónica Germany will close the numerous gaps that the new network operator will still have.
