Press Releases Telefónica Germany

O₂ Telefónica is the first German network operator connecting an Open RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) from Nokia to a mobile communications cluster in its own commercial live network. In the coming months, the artificial intelligence of the RIC will independently optimize the mobile network for customers in the Hellersdorf district of Berlin.

In an interview at the start of the year with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, CEO Markus Haas talks about digital opportunities for a new German government, ways to speed up network expansion and the benefits of 5G.

As the first German network operator, O₂ / Telefónica has activated the first mini-radio cells with innovative Open RAN technology (ORAN) in Munich. In addition to the very well developed O₂ network, this will provide all O₂ customers with even more capacity and higher bandwidths at busy locations in the future. The installation of pure 5G Open RAN mini radio cells ("5G standalone") will follow later in the year.

O₂ / Telefónica Germany continues to improve in the relevant ESG ratings by Sustainalytics and EcoVadis. The company performs particularly well in the environmental and ethical categories, confirming its pioneering role in sustainability management in the telecommunications industry.

With immediate effect, O₂ customers as well as interested new customers in numerous regions of Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony can book faster fixed network connections. To this end, O₂ / Telefónica Deutschland has added another strong regional partner to its already leading internet at home availability.

The year 2022 starts directly with data fireworks at O₂ / Telefónica Deutschland: In the first hour of the new year, customers sent more mobile data through the O₂ network than ever before on New Year's Eve, with around 382,000 gigabytes. This represents an increase of 35 percent compared with the prior-year period (283,000 GB data volume). Traditionally, customers send many congratulations via instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp or via social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook, especially in the first hour of the new year. With a total of 13.5 million phone calls, more calls were also made in the hour after midnight than in the previous year.

A mobile communications era is coming to an end: O₂ / Telefónica will shut down the last 3G sites in the O₂ mobile network on 30 December, sealing the end of UMTS (3G) in Germany. The freed-up frequencies at 2,100 MHz, which O₂ previously used for 3G, will be used entirely for the faster and more efficient 4G standard.

O₂ / Telefónica has reached a milestone in the implementation and control of software defined network functions. For the first time, the telecommunications provider – together with its technology partners – has implemented a vendor-agnostic SDN interface in its nationwide O₂ network. This interface is compatible with a wide range of microwave systems, enabling the company to implement changes to its microwave links uniformly across all manufacturers and in near real time. O₂ / Telefónica is already using this innovative interface for all of the approximately 30,000 microwave links in the O₂ network, which are responsible for transporting data between mobile network sites and the next network node with capacities of up to 10 Gbit/s. Microwave complements fiber-optic services to transport large amounts of data over longer distances cost-effectively and efficiently over the air.

For its 5G mobile network expansion in Germany, O₂ / Telefónica Deutschland is relying on state-of-the-art microwave radio as a supplement to the fiber optic connection of mobile stations.

Driven by the 5G network rollout and Corona-related contact restrictions, German mobile communications is producing new records in telephony and data usage: the O₂ network breaks the 2 billion gigabyte barrier in data consumption per year for the first time. O₂ customers sent more mobile data through the network than ever before in the last eleven months from January to early December 2021.

The O₂ network has achieved the best result in the history of Telefónica / O₂ in the renowned connect network test. The trade magazine again awarded the O₂ network the grade "very good" this year for the second time.

From December 1, 2021, O₂ is abolishing the surcharge for rates without a term for all O₂ Free and O₂ Free Unlimited mobile rates. Such an offer already exists for fixed-network rates. In addition, O₂ is reducing the regular cancellation period from three months to just one. And another good reason for a carefree contract conclusion with O₂ in addition to the acknowledged first-class price-performance ratio: Also from December, existing fixed-term contracts will be automatically extended only in monthly intervals after the end of the regular contract term.

In cooperation with O₂, Sky Sport will also present the top match in the german Liqui Moly Handball premier league between the SG Flensburg-Handewitt and Füchse Berlin on 10 November via O₂ high-end 5G network. Thanks to flexible professional and Samsung smartphone cameras, the match will be followed up close on O₂ super-fast 5G network and broadcast live on the Internet, among other things. In addition to the classic TV broadcast, the match will be available to all fans via stream on skysport.de and the Sky Sport YouTube channel.

Consumer mobile phone labelling scheme launched in 24 European countries by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica, Telia Company and Vodafone now set to expand globally | Fairphone, Realme and vivo join Eco Rating, now 15 manufacturers in total | More than 150 mobile phone models now assessed by Eco Rating methodology

Telefónica / O₂ again delivered strong operational and financial momentum in the third quarter of fiscal year 2021 driven by strong demand for the core O₂ brand and a good partner business. The number of contract mobile customers (excluding M2M) increased by 415,000, while revenue grew by more than 5 percent and adjusted operating income OIBDA by 3.0 percent.

Telefónica Deutschland is expanding its wholesale partnerships with Lebara as a prominent newcomer. The international mobile provider Lebara has also been present in the German market since 2010 and is an established part of the market landscape there as a provider of mobile voice and data services for 'global citizens'. In order to further increase its growth potential, Lebara will in future realise its mobile business via Telefónica Deutschland's network infrastructure. The switch as the newest wholesale partner to the Munich-based telecommunications company is planned for next year.

In SMARTPHONE magazine's major mobile network test, the O₂ network secured the grade "very good" for the first time this year. Due to the latest expansion successes and enormous increase in network quality, the O₂ network also moves up to second place among the best German mobile network providers. The O₂ network impressed in the test with strong performance in cities.

For the first time, O₂ is using an innovative "all in one" mobile communications antenna in its 5G network that supports all frequency bands and mobile communications standards. Currently, for example, network operators have to install additional 5G antennas to existing antenna systems on rooftops and cell towers for the 5G network rollout on 3.6 GHz. The new "all-in-one" antennas significantly simplify such upgrades and conversions of mobile network sites. They also reduce the space required as well as the overall weight of the setups and cut operating costs by around 30 percent.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ will present for the first time at ITS World Congress Hamburg (October 11-15) a mobile edge computing networking solution that enables digital mobility applications via real-time communication in the 5G network. The company will also showcase a 5G campus network, cyber security for robots and a fleet management system at its booth (B5142).

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is expanding its IoT tariff portfolio: The new O₂ Business Easy IoT prepaid tariff complements the already well-known IoT Connect tariff. O₂ Business Easy IoT provides companies with an easy-to-administer tariff that is especially designed for IoT applications with low data transmission requirements and very long usage periods.

One year after the 5G launch, Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ confirms its expansion plans for the latest mobile communications standard: the O₂ network will cover over 50 percent of the German population with 5G by the end of 2022. The company is also on track for the end of 2021 and continues to target coverage of over 30 percent. The basis for this is the high investment programme with a volume of around four billion euros until the end of 2022. In the expansion of the new mobile technology, the focus is on so-called "pure 5G" via the most powerful 3.6 GHz frequency. The 3,000th 3.6 GHz antenna just went live in the O₂ 5G network. Meanwhile, Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is installing around 180 of these 5G antennas in the network every week, tendency further increasing. The company is expanding 5G twice as fast overall compared to 4G and is fully on track to supply all of Germany with 5G by the end of 2025.

Today, Telefónica Tech and Alias Robotics, a company specialising in cyber security for robots, have inaugurated the world's first laboratory dedicated exclusively to innovation in cyber security for robots, at the Wayra Innovation Hub in Munich.

O₂ is packing almost a terabyte of data volume into its new flagship prepaid tariff. From October 5, 2021, the O₂ my Prepaid Max will offer 999 gigabytes of high-speed data for maximum surfing pleasure.1 This will give O₂ customers even more mobile freedom for streaming, surfing and gaming - without a contract commitment, with full cost control and maximum flexibility. For those who are also looking for a new smartphone, O₂ has five devices ready in a package with the O₂ my Prepaid Max¹.

O₂ has become the first German mobile network operator to successfully make a voice call purely over its 5G Live network. The technological innovation Voice over New Radio (VoNR) makes voice telephony in the 5G network possible in the first place. To date, voice calls in all German mobile networks still run via predecessor technologies.

O₂ is expanding its fair O₂ My Handy bundle offer for rate plans and smartphones: From October 5, 2021, O₂ customers will have additional options for paying their devices in installments. In addition to 24 months, they can also pay off their desired device individually over 36 or 48 monthly installments and combine it with a 24-month rate plan.