Deutsche Telekom expects to launch its 5G Standalone offering in Germany this year

German telecom operator Deutsche Telekom said that a total of 10,700 of its 5G antennas in 840 cities are currently transmitting on the 3.6 GHz spectrum band.

In a release, Deutsche Telekom said it has expanded its mobile service offering at 849 locations nationwide in the last four weeks. Some 118 locations were newly built and are now broadcasting with LTE and 5G frequencies, the telco said.

In addition, 4G and 5G capacity was increased at 731 locations already in operation, the company added.

Around 96% of households can already access Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network, while LTE coverage currently reaches 99% of households across Germany.

“We are continuing to increase the pace of mobile communications expansion,” said Abdu Mudesir, managing director of technology at Telekom Deutschland. “96% of the population can already use 5G from Telekom, and by 2025 we will reach 99% of the population. We provide Germany with a comprehensive, future-proof network to make Germany fit for the digital future.”

Deutsche Telekom expects to launch its 5G Standalone (5G SA) offering in Germany this year.  In a previous round-up of its network achievements during 2023, Srini Gopalan, CEO of Telekom Deutschland, which is DT’s domestic operator, said the carrier is aiming at offering 5G SA to private customers.

The executive noted that Deutsche Telekom’s business customers are already using the technology with functions such as network slicing for live TV transmission of media or in 5G campus networks for industry and research.

The carrier began the deployment of Open RAN (O-RAN) in Germany in December, in collaboration with Nokia and Fujitsu. The telco expects to have 3,000 O-RAN compatible antennas by the end of 2026.

In August, Deutsche Telekom said it has already connected 83% of all 5G mobile communications locations nationwide with fiber optics.