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Existing 5G trials will be opened up to public use in the German
capital Berlin and in Bonn, where Deutsche Telekom is
headquartered, with four more cities to follow this year. By the
end of 2020, 20 German cities will have 5G coverage.
"We want to make 5G services available to customers as fast as
possible," Deutsche Telekom's Germany head, Dirk Woessner, told
a glitzy presentation in Berlin.
Deutsche Telekom bid 2.17 billion euros ($2.45 billion) for 130
Megahertz of the 420 MHz of 5G spectrum allocated last month in
Germany's longest-ever auction of mobile frequencies.
The market leader, which is partly state owned, had complained
that the high cost of the auction had left a "bitter aftertaste"
and would sap the ability of network operators to invest in
costly network upgrades.
But it will still be able to plough 5 billion euros ($5.6
billion) this year into building out its network infrastructure,
technology chief Claudia Nemat told the same briefing.
Deutsche Telekom is making 5G-enabled devices available to
customers with immediate effect. It will bring 300 5G-enabled
antennas into service this year, making use of its newly
acquired 3.5 Gigahertz spectrum that is most suited to urban
coverage.
More broadly, Deutsche Telekom will continue to build 2,000 new
masts per year, bringing the total to 36,000 by the end of 2021,
as it strives to meet strict coverage requirements set by the
network regulator.
(Reporting by Markus Wacket; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing
by Tassilo Hummel and Thomas Escritt)
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