02.07.2021
Live interview via 5G on network expansion offensive:O2 5G network with 2,000 5G antennas at 3.6 GHz in 80 cities
Markus Haas
O2 has started the 5G expansion turbo: In the O2 5G network, almost 2,000 5G antennas in around 80 cities are already transmitting on the high-performance 3.6 GHz frequency specially designated for 5G. O2 customers thus receive higher speeds, additional network capacities and thus an optimal network experience overall. Telefónica Deutschland CEO Markus Haas talked about the current progress of the network expansion offensive and the benefits of 5G for consumers and the economy on the occasion of a "5G theme day" with the news channel ntv (ntv Telebörse on July 2, 9 a.m.). The special feature: For the first time, the interview was broadcasted in real time to the ntv studio via O2's own 5G network in Munich.
"We are in the middle of the most ambitious network rollout in our company's history. We started our 5G expansion turbo this year and are investing more in our network than ever before. We are the driver for the rollout of 5G over the fast 3.6 GHz frequencies in Germany," said Markus Haas, CEO of Telefónica Deutschland / O2. "The potential of 5G is huge, both for new business models and processes in the economy and for a completely new real-time consumer experience. With 5G, we offer our customers an additional high-speed network for mobile data usage while enabling new digital applications such as virtual reality gaming or live streaming on TV."
O2 pushes ahead with 5G rollout on 3.6 GHz
2,000 5G antennas in 80 cities are live in the O2 network
Following the 5G launch in October 2020, O2 is continuing to massively expand its 5G network this year. With a view to the increasing data usage of the approximately 44 million customers in the O2 network as well as new digital applications, the 3.6 GHz frequencies are particularly suitable, with which O2 is currently prioritizing the expansion of its 5G network. All of the nearly 2,000 5G antennas in around 80 cities* are transmitting on this frequency. In the capital Berlin, around 375 5G antennas are already ensuring an optimum 5G network experience. In Munich, around 175 5G antennas are transmitting, in Hamburg over 150, in Cologne and Stuttgart over 120 each, in Nuremberg 100, and in Bonn around 75 5G antennas. In addition, O2 has also brought its 5G network to numerous other cities in recent days. These include Leipzig, Regensburg, Pforzheim, Freiburg im Breisgau, Mülheim an der Ruhr and Wörth am Rhein. O2 is pursuing ambitious expansion targets for 5G: By the end of the year, O2 will already cover more than 30 percent of the German population with 5G, and the whole of Germany by 2025.
As part of the current network campaign "Welcome to the very good network of O2", interested parties can still get a free test SIM card until August 31 to convince themselves of the performance of the O2 4G and 5G network. Due to the significantly improved network quality, the O2 network secured the grade "very good" in the mobile network test of the trade magazine connect for the first time at the turn of the year.
5G is ideal for TV use
First TV broadcasting usage of 5G smartphones and O2 5G network
Due to its technical performance - with high surfing speeds and real-time data transmission - the new 5G mobile communications standard is ideally suited for use in TV interviews and live streaming events. This means that any commercially available 5G smartphone can be converted into a flexible TV camera that can capture moving images at any time, even while on the move, and have them broadcast in real time by TV broadcasters.
O2 already successfully demonstrated the potential uses of 5G in live TV last year: In cooperation with TV broadcaster sky Sport, the match between SG Flensburg-Handewitt and FRISCH AUF! Göppingen in the Handball Bundesliga on 6 December 2020 was also broadcast via the O2 5G network with the help of twelve 5G smartphones. In the run-up to the match, O2 equipped the Flens Arena with the new 5G mobile technology in a record time of just seven days. The broadcast of this "5G Handball Summit" was thus the first of its kind in Europe to use 5G broadcast elements.
O2 promotes the development of 5G innovations
O2 is bringing VR gaming into the 5G mobile network
In the future, the new 5G standard will enable further new digital applications in the mobile network. In collaboration with chip developer NVIDIA and network equipment supplier Ericsson, O2 has implemented virtual reality gaming applications on its 5G standalone live network for the first time.
Together with the Wayra innovation lab, the provider supports young founders and startups researching new 5G applications for consumers and businesses. These include unmanned industrial drones, virtual / augmented reality applications or connected driving cars. The Wayra 5G Tech Lab in the heart of Munich offers a comprehensive technology infrastructure including a 5G standalone network.
| * | O2 5G (3.6 GHz) is available in these cities: Aachen, Affalterbach, Altdorf bei Nürnberg, Ansbach, Augsburg, Berlin, Bielefeld, Bietigheim-Bissingen, Bochum, Bonn, Cologne, Dachau, Dortmund, Duisburg, Dusseldorf, Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Erlangen, Essen, Ettlingen, Fellbach, Feucht, Flensburg, Frankfurt, Freiburg im Breisgau, Fürth, Gelsenkirchen, Gerlingen, Hallbergmoos, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Herne, Heroldsberg, Herzogenaurach, Ingolstadt, Ismaning, Karlsruhe, Kernen im Remstal, Korntal-Münchingen, Kornwestheim, Landsberg am Lech, Lauffen am Neckar, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Leipzig, Leonberg, Mainz, Mannheim, Marbach am Neckar, Mönchengladbach, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Munich, Münster, Neckarsulm, Neubiberg, Neuhausen ob Eck, Nuremberg, Oberasbach, Oberhausen, Ostfildern, Pforzheim, Potsdam, Regensburg, Remseck am Neckar, Rosenheim, Röthenbach an der Pegnitz, Rückersdorf, Schwerte, Sindelfingen, Steinheim an der Murr, Stuttgart, Unterföhring, Waiblingen, Weinstadt, Wendelstein (Forst Kleinschwarzenlohe), Wiesbaden, Wörth am Rhein, Wuppertal, Zirndorf |