Vodafone’s 5G SA network currently operates 4,000 antennas across Germany
German carrier Vodafone announced the start of the deployment of 5G Standalone (SA) technology in the country’s former capital city Bonn, and the target is to connect the entire population to the 5G SA network by 2025.
Vodafone will initially use the existing mobile communications infrastructure to a large extent and, wherever possible, put its antennas for 5G and 5G SA into operation at the existing 91 mobile communications sites in Bonn. The already existing mobile radio stations are being upgraded by installing additional 5G and 5G SA technology for example on masts, observation towers, church towers and on the roofs of town halls, office buildings and residential buildings.
Vodafone is also expanding its existing mobile network in Bonn, where it offers almost full coverage with its LTE network. By mid-2023, Vodafone will install a total of nine additional sites in the existing mobile network to close LTE dead spots and increase LTE capacities and speeds.
Vodafone recently said that its 5G Standalone network is currently available to nearly 10 million people across Germany.
Vodafone also said that 5G SA will be activated across the company’s 5G footprint, reaching nationwide coverage by 2025.
The company also said that its 5G network already reaches 45 million people across the country. The telco also said that its 5G network is expected to be available to 60 million people by 2023.
Last year, Vodafone Germany launched its 5G Standalone (SA) network in partnership with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and OPPO.
For the 5G expansion, Vodafone is relying on frequencies in the 3.6 GHz, 1.8 GHz and 700 MHz bands in large urban areas, residential areas and suburbs, and rural areas across Germany.
Vodafone previously said that it was installing new 5G antennas from technology partner Ericsson in its 5G network, which transmit data in a significantly more energy-efficient manner. In comparison to previous antenna technology, around 40% energy can be saved in the transmission of data. Vodafone has been testing 150 of these 5G antennas and aimed to convert 900 5G antennas to this energy-saving technology by the end of the current financial year.
Vodafone initially launched its 5G network in Germany in 2019, on 3.5 GHz frequencies that it acquired from Telefónica in 2018.
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