1&1 said that a new rollout plan stipulates the provision of approximately 1,200 antenna masts by the end of 2023

German operator 1&1 said it expected to launch its 5G offering for smartphone users by the third quarter of 2023.

“At this point, [rival operator] Telefónica will provide the national roaming coverage … and 1&1 will offer nationwide [coverage] to its customers right from the start,” the telco said in its earnings report.

“On the other hand, 1&1 has fallen behind original expectations with regard to the passive infrastructure. After the first interim target of 1,000 5G antennas was missed by a wide margin at the end of the previous financial year, 1&1, together with its expansion partners for the radio mast infrastructure, established a new rollout plan in March intended to drive the expansion of antenna locations,” the telco said.

The German carrier said this new rollout plan stipulates the provision of approximately 1,200 antenna masts by the end of 2023. “Beginning in 2024, plans provide for 1&1’s activation of an additional 3,000 antenna sites annually by Vantage Towers, American Towers and GfTD. Moreover, Eubanet, our fourth partner, supports us in the acquisition of new antenna sites.”

1&1 noted that the telco aims to provide 5G services to a quarter of German households by the end of 2025 and to half of them by the end of 2030.

“While the rollout targets were missed significantly in 2022, 1&1 is now confident that the commitments made by the expansion partners will be fulfilled in accordance with the contracts,” the telco added.

Earlier this month, Germany’s federal network agency, Bundesnetzagentur, opened a fine proceeding against 1&1 for failures in its 5G network coverage obligations.

As part of the 2019 frequency auction, the telco committed to deploy 1,000 5G sites by the end of last year. 1&1 said that the delays in the deployment of its 5G network infrastructure were consequence of technical problems with its partners. 

According to local press reports, tower operator Vantage Towers had failed to keep delivery agreements on several occasions. The report also stated that the amount of the fine is still unclear. “The Federal Network Agency initiated fine proceedings in April 2023 due to the failure to meet the expansion obligation. In these proceedings, 1&1 has the opportunity to explain its position to the Federal Network Agency. It is not yet possible to predict whether the Federal Network Agency will impose a fine at the end of these proceedings,” the German company said.

“The Federal Cartel Office, at the instigation of 1&1, is currently investigating whether the almost complete failure of the expansion partner Vantage Towers in the expansion in 2022 is due to unlawful influence by [rival operator] Vodafone, the controlling shareholder of Vantage Towers,” 1&1 said.

Since the acquisition of its 5G license, the German telco has been selecting tech partners for the construction of its network. 1&1 had selected Japanese company Rakuten Group to design, build and operate a fully virtualized mobile network based O-RAN technology. The telco has also signed a long-term tower rental agreement with Vantage Towers AG.

In August 2021, 1&1 and Rakuten Group announced a long-term partnership to build the former’s mobile network in Germany. Through this deal, Rakuten became the general contractor for the 1&1 mobile network.

Earlier this year, 1&1 launched 5G services with fixed wireless access (FWA) technology.

The first antennas for the provision of 5G FWA were putoperation in Frankfurt and Karlsruhe. The telco said it expected to expand this offering to cover new cities including Hamburg, Essen, Düsseldorf, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Munich and Freiburg.

The new offering, dubbed “5G at home” is a replacement for conventional DSL, fiber optic or cable internet connection, and is now available in the first regions.