DT conducts tests of LTE network in Munich

German incumbent Deutsche Telekom (DT) has begun testing of its Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband network in Munich, using five base stations at the city’s Trade Fair Centre. During the trial, chancellor Angela Merkel and DT’s CEO Rene Obermann held a videoconference over the test network during the National IT Summit in Munich. After the pilot phase at the city’s exhibition centre, during 2012 DT plans to expand 4G services to Munich’s metropolitan area and a number of industrial zones. The operator’s Munich LTE network operates in the 1800MHz band, and has demonstrated download speeds of up to 100Mbps and maximum upload rates of 30Mbps. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, DT acquired ten blocks of frequencies in the 800MHz, 1800MHz, 2GHz and 2.6GHz bands in the government’s April/May 2010 spectrum auction for a total of EUR1.3 billion (USD1.7 billion), including two blocks of 2×5MHz spectrum in the 800MHz ‘digital dividend’ band. The company is using its 1800MHz and 2.6GHz frequencies to deploy LTE in towns and cities, while its 800MHz spectrum, which is best suited to cover rural areas with mobile broadband because of its reach, is being used to roll out LTE in unserved and underserved areas. DT is looking to roll out LTE to around 1,800 locations across the country by the end of 2011.