Vodafone said its 5G SA network currently serves nearly 45% of the German population
Vodafone Germany’s 5G network reached 91% of the country’s population as of the end of 2023, the European carrier said in a release.
Meanwhile, the operator’s 5G Standalone network (SA) currently serves nearly 45% of the German population, the telco added. Vodafone previously said that 5G SA technology will reach nationwide coverage by 2025.
Around 6,200 construction projects were completed in all cities and districts during the year in order to close dead spots and further improve network capacities for mobile phone users, the telco said.
Vodafone also noted that during 2023, the company also focused on expanding its network along railway tracks across Germany Since the beginning of 2023, Vodafone has been specifically strengthening the mobile phone network on long-distance and regional routes. The company implemented 1,237 construction projects nationwide during 2023. As part of the network expansion, 225 new mobile phone masts were built near the tracks, closing many dead spots for rail passengers. The most new construction projects were in North Rhine-Westphalia (36), Bavaria (31) and Lower Saxony (29). The telco also noted that 5G SA technology is already available on more than 50% of the railway lines.
Vodafone Germany had launched its 5G SA network in 2022 in partnership with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Oppo. For the 5G expansion, Vodafone is currently relying on frequencies in the 3.6 GHz, 1.8 GHz and 700 MHz bands in large urban areas, residential areas and suburbs and rural areas across Germany.
Vodafone initially launched its 5G network in Germany in 2019, using 3.5 GHz frequencies that it acquired from Telefónica in 2018.
The company had previously completed a field test with Open RAN (O-RAN) technology in Plauen, in the Saxony region.
The Germany carrier had announced that it will carry out comprehensive pilot projects for open 5G radio access networks at several locations in Germany. The first two stations for the operator’s O-RAN technology are located in rural Bavaria. The pilots are scheduled to start in early 2023 and mark the beginning of a broader deployment of O-RAN technology in Vodafone’s European mobile networks.
The pilot projects will use O-RAN hardware and software, which Vodafone successfully tested in the U.K. earlier this year. Samsung is currently supplying mobile technology and software for these O-RAN trials.