Last year, Vodafone and 1&1 had signed a preliminary contract to work together from this summer
German carriers Vodafone and 1&1 confirmed they have launched their national roaming partnership to offer mobile communications across the country.
Last year, both operators had already agreed in a preliminary contract to work together starting this summer. Beginning August 29, the new roaming deal stipulates that new 1&1 customers in areas not yet covered by 1&1 itself will have access to the Vodafone network. The switch between the networks is automatic and is not noticeable for cell phone users, the companies said.
1&1 is the fourth German network operator and is in the process of deploying its mobile infrastructure across Germany. Wherever the new 1&1 5G network does not yet have its own coverage, 1&1 customers are currently using antennas from Telefonica Germany.
However, this scenario will change as the deal with Vodafone stipulates that 1&1 will in future obtain all national roaming services from Vodafone.
Existing 1&1 customers will also be able to use the 1&1 5G network in conjunction with Vodafone national roaming in the future.
“We are convinced that our customers will benefit from the partnership. Vodafone has invested in very good network quality in recent years and is achieving strong results, particularly in terms of nationwide 5G coverage. At the same time, our main goal remains to expand the 1&1 mobile network as quickly as possible and to make our innovative Open RAN technology available in more and more areas,” said Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1.
The cooperation between Vodafone and 1&1 is designed for the long term and includes mechanisms that protect both companies financially in the event of rising costs and data volumes. Vodafone and 1&1 have already worked together in partnership in the past as part of their MVNO contract.
1&1, which is owned by United Internet AG, had constructed a total of 1,334 antenna sites by the end of the first quarter of the year.
The carrier, which launched mobile services using its own infrastructure in December 2023, said that around 700,000 customers were already using the 1&1 O-RAN network as of the end of March. The company said its network is fully virtualized and based on O-RAN technology. The network uses hardware, software and services from more than 80 partners, 1&1 said.
Vodafone Germany recently noted that around half of the population in Germany is already connected to its 5G SA network via 5,500 5G SA locations, of which more than 4,000 stations are now equipped with antennas in the 3.5 GHz frequency range.
Vodafone Germany had launched its 5G SA network in 2022 in partnership with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Oppo.