Deutsche Telekom vowed to accelerate its rollout of residential fiber broadband, saying it now aims to ensure that all households in Germany have direct access to the fiber-optic network by 2030.
In 2020, Deutsche Telekom doubled the number of households that can receive FTTH to 600,000, more than twice as many as in the previous year (270,000). In total, Telekom now offers two million households an FTTH connection. Around two million more are to be added annually on average from 2021.
By 2023, 3,000 business parks are also to be connected to the fiber-optic network. Deutsche Telekom can already provide 17,000 schools with connections of up to 250 Mbps. In the next three years, at least one in four schools is to receive a fiber-optic connection from Deutsche Telekom alone.
Inside the home, Telekom has rolled out a new Speedport Smart 4 Plus router that can be connected directly to a fiber optic cable and has an integrated fiber optic modem. The device is also the first router with an OLED display that conveniently displays information on functions. It also features Wi-Fi 6 and mesh WLAN technology.
Deutsche Telekom also promised to accelerate its efforts in 5G. Two-thirds of people in Germany can now use 5G on the Telekom network. 45,000 antennas are already transmitting on 5G.
Deutsche Telekom is combining two 5G frequency bands. The company said that on the high-reach 2.1 GHz frequency, high mobile bandwidths will be brought to rural areas in particular. For example, the offshore island of Helgoland is now also being supplied with 5G. The 3.6 GHz frequency provides high-speed 5G where many people move around in a small area, such as in large cities. It is now also used at Frankfurt Airport. The technology will also be installed at Berlin’s BER airport. New are also the 5G Highspeed antennas in Bremen, Hanover and Nuremberg. This means that 13 major cities are already benefiting from 5G in gigabit speed.
Telekom is planning the initial implementation of an O-RAN-Town in Neubrandenburg in 2021. In further steps, up to 25 O-RAN-compatible sites in active network operation with 4G/5G technology come together Cooperations with leading manufacturers such as Dell, Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia, Mavenir and others are under discussion.
Telekom also announced the deployment of a new 5G campus network at the University Hospital in Bonn. It is the first campus network to operate on the 3.6 GHz frequency. Indoor antennas supply several hospital buildings. 5G will initially be used in radiology. X-rays and MRT images are transmitted via secure mobile radio to several locations of the University Hospital Bonn.
“Telekom keeps its promises. This applies in particular to network expansion. Right now, the Telekom network is proving its worth. It was the right decision to put fiber optic in every street and thus to enable fast networks from Telekom for over 80 percent of all households. Home offices are possible throughout the country. Now comes the next step: Fiber optic to the home and 5G. Here too, we have a plan that we are working through step by step. Despite Corona, our expansion is running at full speed,” says Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges. “And to make sure that everyone in Germany is part of it in the future, we are now really getting going. To achieve this, we have been investing around five and a half billion euros a year in Germany for years. Most of it will go into our network”.
