Germany invests over EUR1bn to close mobile coverage gaps

Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure has announced that its Mobile Communications Strategy has been adopted by the government. The aim of the strategy is to ensure nationwide coverage of mobile voice and data services, specifically 4G LTE technology. To achieve this, around EUR1.1 billion (USD1.2 billion) will be invested in the installation of roughly 5,000 new mobile sites to eliminate coverage gaps, or ‘white spots’, in rural areas. Such locations are not currently served by mobile operators, because the expansion of wireless networks there is not economically viable. A state-owned company will be established to carry out this task which, when completed, will result in network coverage of 99.95% of households and 97.5% of the country’s territory.