Deutsche Telekom said it now supplies over 16 million people with 5G, in more than 1,000 towns and communities. The company plans to provide 5G for 40 million people, or half of the German population, by mid-July.
To supply a large part of the population with 5G, Deutsche Telekom has upgraded 12,000 antennas so far, and the number will rise to 40,000 by year-end. It uses frequencies in 15 MHz in the 2.1 GHz band for LTE and 5G. The frequencies in 5 MHz come from previous 3G spectrum and that it will be rededicated. Deutsche Telekom Also acquired 10 MHz of the current 3G spectrum from another provider. The purchase was scheduled initially for 2021. It is also using this spectrum for LTE and 5G.
Deutsche Telekom is accelerating the roll-out of 5G by combining available frequencies. Through the use of Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS), customers will receive an additional frequency band for using LTE. With DSS, Deutsche Telekom distributes the spectrum between LTE and 5G users according to demand.
The company said that almost 2 million customers have subscribed to a 5G tariff since the launch of 5G services one year ago. It will offer new customers who subscribe to a MagentaMobil, MagentaMobil Young and FamilyCard tariffs, and existing customers, EUR 100 cashback if switching to a 5G-compatible tariff. The promotion will take place on 01-27 July. Customers who choose a Samsung 5G smartphone from the S20 Series 5G will receive it for a EUR 1 one-off initial fee.
Deutsche Telekom will launch an extensive marketing campaign on June 19 to attract customers to 5G, under the banner "With 5G, nothing separates us anymore".
