Vodafone calls on regulator to speed up LTE activation - CEO

Vodafone Germany wants to focus on deploying LTE instead of using Telekom Deutschland's DSL network for broadband services, according to CEO Friedrich Joussen in an interview with German magazine Focus. He reiterates his statement made in an interview with German financial publication Boersenzeitung on 19 August of this year claiming that the operator is paying around EUR 500 million per year to Telekom for access to its DSL network, which should be used to invest in upgrading and maintaining the DSL network instead of paying dividends to shareholders. At the same time, the operator is unable to deploy LTE at the speed it wants as 3,900 applications for activation of LTE antennas are waiting for approval by the German telecommunications regulator BNA. Joussen hopes that the regulator is able to increase its handling of these applications soon. Joussen also said that Vodafone has completed LTE deployment coverage 90 percent of North Rhine Westphalia's rural regions where no broadband services where available and wants to start deploying LTE in cities in the state capital and its head quarter's location Duesseldorf.