31.10.2022
5G rollout at record speed:O2 covers 75 percent of the population with 5G
O2 Telefónica makes rapid progress in 5G network rollout
Telecommunications provider O2 Telefónica is making much faster progress with the nationwide rollout of its 5G network than originally planned. The O2 network now supplies 75 percent of the population in Germany with the 5G mobile standard. Currently, more than 18,000 5G antennas are transmitting on the O2 network.
With this expansion progress, the telecommunications provider has significantly exceeded its original target of covering half of the population with 5G by the end of 2022. The company already achieved this interim goal in July, half a year earlier than planned.
Digitization boost for consumers and companies
CEO Markus Haas
CEO Markus Haas says: "We are accelerating our 5G rollout and giving Germany a digitization boost. We are bringing the new high-speed mobile network to more and more cities and, above all, rural regions even faster. Consumers benefit from an improved network experience, higher speeds and new digital applications. Businesses use our 5G network for smart networking of machines and for digital meetings. Our investments in a more powerful network strengthen Germany as a digital location in the long term and sustainably."
O2 has made significant progress in expansion, particularly in recent months: within just a few months from July to October 2022, a further 25 percent of the population was supplied with 5G.
A focus for O2 is the expansion via 3.6 GHz. Due to the high bandwidths available in this frequency range, O2 can offer its customers particularly fast 5G. The frequencies are used primarily in densely populated regions. Cities with the most 3.6 GHz stations include Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and Cologne. The rapidly growing network means that customers increasingly use their digital applications via 5G.
In order to bring the mobile communications standard to rural regions even faster and thus provide for the best possible area coverage, the provider is focusing on the 700 MHz frequencies also. These have a range of several kilometers.
The expansion focus proves how important the frequencies in the so-called "low band" are for digital coverage in Germany. O2 thus offers the population important coverage with 5G (700 MHz), 4G (800 MHz) and 2G (900 MHz).
O2 is rolling out 5G faster than any mobile technology before
The rapidly growing network means that customers increasingly use their digital applications via 5G
O2 is rolling out the new 5G standard faster than any other mobile technology before, taking just two years to bring coverage to 75 percent since the 5G network launch in October 2020. As regards 4G, the company needed four years (2012-2016) for the same coverage. This means that O2 is moving at record speed with 5G.
By the end of 2025 - within a total of just five years - O2 aims to cover the entire population with 5G.
O2 offers strong network quality nationwide: The trade magazine connect awarded the O2 network the grade "very good" for two years in a row. In the recently published Smartphone Magazin network test, the O2 network received the top rating of "Outstanding" for the first time.
