Progress in mobile communications expansion
Germany achieves almost 90 percent 5G coverage
September 23, 2023, 6:46 a.m
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5G networks are now available in most parts of Germany. The expansion is making progress, but is becoming increasingly difficult. In addition, 5G does not mean that every consumer has access to it. And there are also differences in coverage between the individual federal states.
Germany’s mobile phone providers are making progress in expanding cell phone networks. 5G antennas already reached 89 percent of the country’s area in July, 5.1 percentage points more than six months earlier, the Federal Network Agency said upon request. Compared to July 2022, it was even an increase of 38.1 points.
The further the expansion, the more difficult it becomes. This is because in some places companies cannot find suitable land to rent on which to set up masts. With the slower 4G radio standard, area coverage was 97.2 percent in July, an increase of 0.2 points since January 2023 and one percentage point since July 2022. There are currently three mobile phone network operators in Germany, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica ( O2). A fourth company, 1&1, is in the starting blocks.
The numbers illustrate the progress. However, their meaningfulness for consumers is limited because they are bundled values: If a network operator in a village has 5G antennas, but the other two network operators do not, the village in question is still considered to be covered – even though it is customers of the other two network operators can’t get a 5G connection there. The figures come from the network operators and are published by the Federal Network Agency every three months.
Among the federal states, Hesse had the worst 5G area coverage in July with 82.5 percent; in Baden-Württemberg (82.6 percent) and Rhineland-Palatinate (82.9 percent) it was only slightly better. Things looked best in the city states, where network expansion is relatively easy. For Bremen, the telecommunications companies reported a combined 5G coverage of 99.99 percent. Among the regional states, Schleswig-Holstein achieved the best value with 96.8 percent, while Lower Saxony (92.8 percent), Saxony (92.5 percent) and North Rhine-Westphalia (92.1 percent) also did well.