1&1 had contracted the deployment of its 5G network infrastructure to three companies
German operator 1&1 is experiencing delays in the deployment of its 5G network, and it won’t be able to meet its deployment goals for this year, according to local press reports and a company release.
The operator had initially expected to deploy 1,000 5G antennas nationwide by the end of this year.
“This target is achievable in principle, but quite challenging for a new entrant,” the company said in a statement, adding that it now expects to meet that goal in the summer of 2023.
1&1 had contracted the deployment of its 5G network infrastructure to three companies. According to the company, two of these partners had managed to deliver on time, while another company failed to meet its obligations. 1&1 did not reveal the name of the firm that was not able to deliver on time, but said that it was “surprisingly the most significant partner in terms of volume”. The vendor had committed to set up around two-thirds of the 1,000 planned antenna sites by the end of 2022.
1&1 said that it tried to implement a number of measures with the aim of accelerating the planned deliveries with the vendor. “However, these efforts were unfortunately unsuccessful,” the company continued, adding that it has “received final notification that the antenna sites agreed at the end of the year can only be provided after a significant delay.”
The German carrier also noted that it is currently working with its other vendors to minimize the impact of the delay on network deployment. It says that it still plans to launch its network on its original timeframe, with service expected to commence in December.
1&1 also said it is still on the right track to achieve the planned coverage of 50% of all households in the country before the end of 2030.
As part of the commitments included in the license that the telco obtained in 2019 for the provision of mobile services, 1&1 is obliged to deploy at least 1,000 base stations this year. The 1&1 network must reach at least 25% of German households by the end of 2025 and at least 50% by end-2030, as part of those commitments.
1&1 aims to start offering 5G broadband services in December via FWA technology and plans to launch 5G mobile services in the summer of 2023.
Last month, 1&1 completed the first live test in its new 5G network. In the tests, 1&1 said that it achieved speeds of over 1 Gbps and stable data transfers of around 8 terabytes per customer within 24 hours.
1&1 had selected Japanese company Rakuten Group to design, build and operate a fully virtualized mobile network based O-RAN technology. The telco has also signed a long-term tower rental agreement with Vantage Towers AG.
In August 2021, 1&1 and Rakuten Group announced a long-term partnership to build the former’s mobile network in Germany. Through this deal, Rakuten became the general contractor for the 1&1 mobile network.
Specifically, Rakuten will take over the build of the active network equipment and will also be responsible for the overall performance of the 1&1 mobile network. The German telco will have access to the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP) stack of access, core, cloud and operations solutions as well as to its partner network.
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