Deutsche Telekom (DT), which provides fixed and mobile services in Germany through its Telekom Deutschland unit, has agreed to connect at least 5,000 of Telefonica Deutschland’s mobile base stations with its fibre-optic network in the long-term. The new agreement builds on a mobile backhaul contract concluded between the two operators in 2011 to connect the widely dispersed base stations with the network centre. With their partnership, Telekom and Telefonica are creating the foundation for upgrading the current 3G and 4G antennas at their base stations to 5G successively in the coming years. DT will be responsible for operating and monitoring the fibre-optic network.
‘This partnership between Telefonica Deutschland and Deutsche Telekom represents an important milestone for network expansion in Germany,’ stated Markus Haas, CEO of Telefonica Deutschland, adding: ‘By using the available infrastructure, we can accelerate the expansion of our mobile network and get a significant portion of our mobile base stations in shape for the future 5G standard. As a result, our customers will benefit directly from a more powerful mobile network and a better user experience.’