24.09.2020
5G network goes live from 3 October:O2 kick starts data turbo for digitalization of Germany
Markus Haas
On October 3, O2 will launch the 5G network in the five largest German cities Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne. This way the core brand of Telefónica Germany sets a sign for digital progress and mobile freedom in a symbolic virtual act on the 30th anniversary of German reunification. The same also applies to the new mobile communications standard: O2 democratizes high-tech. By offering the best value-for-money 5G proposition, O2 will open up access to the 5G experience to all consumers. O2 private customers will enter the 5G era with the commercial marketing of the offers on 6 October. They can use 5G from day one at no extra charge. Attractive offers for O2 business customers will follow soon. They will all experience completely new dimensions of digitalisation with O2 in the future.
"With 5G, we are starting into a new mobile phone era and democratize high tech", says Markus Haas, CEO of Telefónica Germany / O2. "Our O2 mobile network connects more than 43 million customers and thus most people in Germany. Therefore, we have a special responsibility to kick-start the data turbo for digitalisation of Germany. 5G is crucial for our digital future. This is why we are investing four billion euros in the expansion of our O2 network by 2022."
5G network expansion from O2 is picking up speed
O2's 5G network will start with around 150 stations
While it took four years for 3G and two years for 4G from frequency auction to market launch, O2 now switches on 5G much earlier - and on a larger scale. Only about one and a half years after the frequency auction, O2's 5G network will start with around 150 stations in the five largest German cities. This means that a total of 9 million people will already be able to experience 5G from O2 in their city. For comparison: With the 4G start of O2, there were only two cities with significantly fewer stations, Nuremberg and Dresden. O2 will push ahead with the 5G expansion in big steps over the coming months. To this end, O2 is relying on its 3.6 GHz frequencies auctioned in 2019, offering customers the highest possible 5G speeds and capacities.
"We will bring 5G to more and more cities and especially to rural areas in a short period of time. And in order to get our residential customers into the area much faster than in the past, we will use a broad spectrum of technologies. We will provide all our business customers with clear competitive advantages through the virtualization of our 5G core network", says Mallik Rao, Chief Technology & Information Officer of Telefónica Germany / O2.
Mallik Rao
Wolfgang Metze
Excellent value-for-money 5G proposition from O2
O2 retail customers will be able to experience 5G quality on the net directly from 6 October at no extra charge. 5G is part of all O2 mobile phone tariffs from 39.99 euros. O2 thus offers an outstanding value-for-money 5G proposition. Even the cheapest tariff with 60 GB offers up to two and a half times more data than comparable offers on the German market.
"5G is the future. Our O2 brand will make this future affordable and thus accessible to everyone. O2 has always been at the forefront of opening up innovations to all consumers and making them suitable for the mass market. In the past, this has already been the case with Homezone, O2 Free tariffs or our Unlimited offer and O2 will also redeem this for 5G. We are creating the most attractive and comprehensive 5G package for our customers - with excellent sales & service, innovative tariffs and suitable hardware, an attractive price/performance ratio, a strong brand and a high-performance network ", says Wolfgang Metze, member of the Management Board of Telefónica Deutschland / O2 responsible for retail customers. "We are launching 5G at exactly the right time. The new mobile technology is no longer the sole playground of the ‘early adopters’. It is now becoming increasingly relevant for the digital everyday life of all customers".
O2 will gradually develop the new mobile phone standard towards real-time communication
With 5G, O2 retail customers will be able to download movies to their smartphone within seconds in their everyday life thanks to lightning-fast downloads on the move. Or stream them in high-resolution quality. Initially, O2 will offer an industry-standard 5G maximum speed of 300 MBit/s, with which customers can use all applications conveniently. In the future, 5G technology will enable faster data rates up to a top speedof 20 GBit/s.
In addition, O2 will gradually develop the new mobile phone standard towards real-time communication thanks to shorter reaction times. This will enable applications such as augmented and virtual reality to reach their full potential and enable customers to experience, for example, cloud-based mobile online gaming without delay.
Endless opportunities for business and society
New momentum for modern production and logistics processes
5G from O2 gives industry and medium-sized companies new momentum for modern production and logistics processes and the Internet of Things (‘IoT’). Up to one million devices per square kilometer can be connected with 5G. This enables companies to convert their production to be fully digital and fit for the future. "5G is becoming a huge efficiency lever in the economy and ensures their competitiveness. The Industry 4.0 concept with the digital factory, intelligent energy networks, networked driving and smart cities can now become reality in Germany," states CEO Haas.
To significantly simplify the construction of 5G networks for industry, Telefónica Germany / O2 is increasingly focusing on cloud computing and virtualization. With O2's cloud-based 5G networking, companies will be able to bring their products to market faster and more cost-effectively and increase their profitability. In addition, 5G offers significantly enhanced energy efficiency. The new generation of mobile phones consumes up to 90 percent less energy per byte than 4G. CO2 emissions are also reduced by a significant amount. Data transmission of one hour of video streaming over 5G causes results in only 5 percent of the CO2 emissions of such streaming over the legacy mobile phone standard 3G.
Start immediately into the digital future with the 5G tariffs from O2
O2 retail customers will receive 5G from 6 October 2020
O2 retail customers will receive 5G from 6 October together with 60 GB high-speed data volume from 39.99 euros (O2 Free L). Further O2 tariffs with inclusive 5G usage are the O2 Free L Boost, as well as the two tariffs with unlimited data volume O2 Free Unlimited Smart1, and Unlimited Max.
Customers who have already opted for one „5G ready“-tariff since 4 February 2020 can also surf the new 5G network from O2 at no extra charge. O2 will inform them by SMS and e-mail that they can activate the "5G option" in their selfcare area "My O2" at no extra cost. Existing customers without a "5G ready" tariff can switch to a 5G tariff when renewing their contract.
Large selection of 5G smartphones at O2
O2 My Handy already offers a large selection of 5G-capable smartphones in all price categories. These include devices from Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and Google. Additional exciting 5G new devices from other vendors are expected in the near future.