In 2021, O2 Telefonica set up the first 5G street light in Hesse, in Frankfurt am Main

German operator O2 Telefonica, together with smart energy solutions provider Mainova, are working on a project to convert street lights in Frankfurt am Main5G locationsconsolidate its 5G mobile network.

At the same time, the integration of an irrigation system including an external water tank turns these street lightssmart digital watering cans for surrounding trees, the telco said.

In 2021, the project partners set up the first 5G street light in Hesse, in Frankfurt am Main. Following this initial trial, the companies decided to expand this initiative to downtown Frankfurt.

The partners are converting conventional street lampsa special smart pole. O2 Telefónica installed energy-efficient 4G/5G mobile communications technology. “The technical cabinet is housed in a street furniture ensemble made of wood. This is designed as a bench so that it can be seamlessly integratedthe cityscape and used by passers-by. At the same time, the bench contains a water storage tank for surrounding city trees. Sensors in the ground measure the moisture level, combine this information with the weather forecast and use a data connection to automatically water the surrounding trees,” O2 Telefonica said.

The O2 Telefónica mobile communications site uses several frequency bands including the 3.6 GHz, 2.1 GHz and 1,800 MHz. “The small radio cell thus supplements the existing O2 Telefonica mobile network in Frankfurt am Main with additional bandwidths,” the telco said.

Matthias Sauder, director of mobile access and transport networks at O2 Telefónica said that the small cells complement the telco’s existing mobile infrastructure in busy urban areas.

Thomas Erfert, managing Director of SRM Street Lighting Rhein-Main, commented: “It’s a way of using the existing municipal infrastructure for the 5G expansion thanks to intelligent solutions. At the same time, the approach offers us numerous possibilities in terms of smart city aspects: The street furniture variant combines sustainability in the form of a smart solution for needs-based irrigation with other data-based application options. In addition, it blends harmoniouslythe cityscape, which further enhances our joint project.”

O2 Telefonica recently said it is on track to reach 90% of the population with its 5G service by the end of this year.

The European carrier activated nearly 1,000 new 5G sites nationwide during the first quarter of the year. With this expansion, the company said it ended March with a 5G population coverage of nearly 82%, adding that it aims to reach full nationwide coverage with its 5G network infrastructure by the end of 2025.

The German operator said it has been focusing on 5G network densification in both urban and rural areas of Germany. In the first quarter of this year, 200 5G sites operating on the 3.6 GHz frequency were deployed in Berlin, Hamburg, Bremen, Essen, Munich and Magdeburg, among other cities.

O2 Telefónica also said it already offers 5G on the 700 MHz frequency band at around 600 locations across Germany.

The carrier also said that while it is ready to deploy a nationwide 5G Standalone (SA) network, it will only fully activate the infrastructure once 5G SA offers real added value for customers, and when enough devices in the market support 5G SA.

The telco posted revenues of EUR 2.1 billion ($2.29 million) in Q1, up 8% year-on-year, reflecting sustained mobile service revenue momentum and another record quarter for handset sales.