5G network: Telekom invests heavily in expansion

All German mobile network operators are investing heavily in the expansion of the 5G network, and their antennas are reaching more and more homes. In the race to achieve the greatest possible coverage, Deutsche Telekom is in the lead.

Deutsche Telekom already reaches 97 percent of German households with its 5G mobile network. As the Bonn-based company announced that it currently has 12,150 antennas in operation nationwide on the fast 3.6 gigahertz frequency in the 5G radio standard. By the end of 2025, coverage is expected to be 99 percent. The last few percent are particularly expensive and laborious because then the difficult locations are next – especially in rural areas, where a new transmission mast can only supply relatively few houses.

Telekom is ahead

The competitors are behind Telekom in terms of 5G coverage. O2 Telefónica claims to have 96 percent coverage and Vodafone around 92 percent. These figures refer to the households covered. Current figures for more meaningful area coverage are not available. In April, however, Telekom was also clearly ahead in this coverage statistic with more than 80 percent. The two competitors were each at under 70 percent.

5G has been in operation for five years

The three established mobile network operators Telekom, Vodafone and O2 have been using the 5G standard in Germany since 2019. In recent years they have invested heavily and gradually improved coverage. 5G offers a significantly faster data connection than the previous standard 4G (also known as LTE). Its response time (latency) is also better. 5G has great advantages, especially for industry.

For many consumers, however, 4G connections are sufficient to be well connected in everyday life. In addition to the three major network operators, 1&1 also has its own 5G network in Germany, which was activated for cell phone users at the end of 2023 and is currently still very small – it is being gradually expanded, but will still reach significantly fewer households than the network of the three top dogs for a long time to come.

The company from Montabaur relies on “national roaming”: where it does not have its own antennas – i.e. in most places in Germany – the smartphones of 1&1 customers connect to O2’s antennas.

_{Text: dpa / Editor: Felix Ritter}