Telefonica Deutschland says it has fulfilled the national coverage requirements set by the Federal Network Agency (FNA) as it is now able to supply 98% of German households with 4G services. The company rolled out around 7,200 LTE stations in previously unserved areas and along transport routes last year, and installed an additional 3,800 transmitters to increase capacity and connection speeds, allowing it to serve seven million more people with 4G than at the end of 2019.
Telefonica is investing around EUR4 billion (USD4.8 billion) in its networks by 2022 and plans to supply around 30% of the population with 5G by the end of this year and increase coverage nationwide by 2025. The firm became Germany’s third mobile network operator (MNO) to introduce 5G services on 3 October when the network was activated in the country’s five largest cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne.