German telco Deutsche Telekom said it will install two new cell towers to support a 5G campus network at PCK refinery in the coming months.
The telco noted that the connection to a redundant and secure power supply will guarantee 5G coverage for the employees. In the future, the 1,200 PCK Raffinerie employees and around 2,000 employees working for the 80 companies also based on the company site will benefit from improved connectivity, the telco said.
Deutsche Telekom highlighted that the entire 5G network will be provided on the 2.1 GHz frequency. This will be assisted via the expansion and integration of five nearby cell sites. The control room for the entire refinery site will be equipped with special in-house antennas.
The carrier also explained that all network components will be connected in a redundant and crisis-proof manner via a two-way system..
Josef Maily, managing director at PCK Raffinerie said: “The 5G campus with our partner, Deutsche Telekom, is a significant step in expanding and accelerating digital processes in our refinery. In future, our central control center – where the refinery processes are managed – will be equipped with the latest mobile communications technology. The expansion of our company makes improving the mobile coverage a real challenge.”
“Together with PCK, we are building the currently largest campus network in Germany. Our 5G campus network solutions are suitable for various industries and applications. Particularly when it comes to critical infrastructure such as a refinery, the customer must be able to count on having reliable and, above all, secure networks,” said Hagen Rickmann, director for business customers at Telekom Deutschland.
Once the project is fully completed, PCK Raffinerie will use the campus network to monitor and manage technological and maintenance processes more efficiently, while the implementation of IoT solutions using the 5G infrastructure are also planned.
Deutsche Telekom said it aims to complete the project by October 2022.
The telco recently said that its 5G service offered via the 3.6 GHz band is currently available in over 140 cities across the country, with over 3,500 antennas at almost 1,200 locations.
Deutsche Telekom has also technically upgraded all antennas in the 3.6 gigahertz band for 5G standalone. They are connected in parallel to both the existing core network and the new 5G standalone core network, the carrier said.
The company added that 90% of the German population has access to its 5G network, while 5G should also cover 90% of the country’s territory by the end of 2025.
Deutsche Telekom said that over 63,000 antennas across Germany are already transmitting with 5G, of which 6,000 were installed during 2021.
Deutsche Telekom noted that its 5G network is ready for 5G standalone deployment as all sites that transmit on the 3.6 GHz band support this technology with immediate effect. Deutsche Telekom plans to roll out 5G Standalone on additional frequency bands during 2022.
