Bonn Germany’s network operators still have a long way to go in terms of mobile network expansion in order to meet supply obligations in a timely manner. This is shown by a paper from the Federal Network Agency, which is available to the German Press Agency. The document refers to conditions that the network operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica (O2) have received at the frequency auction 2019 and which must be fulfilled by the end of 2022.
One obligation states that in every federal state at least 98 percent of households must have a mobile phone network with 100 megabits per second available for download. Only in four federal states did all three network operators comply with this minimum requirement as early as January 2022, as the paper shows.
According to the paper, 100 Mbit coverage is already 100 percent of households in the city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, and 99 percent in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The regulatory authority stated a percentage range for the coverage of the three operators, in Bavaria, for example, it is 88 to 98 percent. So the telecommunications company that is the most advanced in terms of expansion is already at 98 percent and the company that is the slowest is only at 88 percent.
The paper does not show which of the three network operators is slow and which is fast. During the expansion requirements of the frequency auction in 2015, Telefónica had greater difficulties in meeting the requirements of the time – the Munich-based company came to the finish line only belatedly. The Telekom and Vodafone had much less problems.
According to the Federal Network Agency, no company in three federal states reached the current expansion obligations at the beginning of this year, namely in Baden-Württemberg with a range of 95 to 96 percent, Rhineland-Palatinate (90 to 96 percent) and Thuringia (88 to 95 percent). In ten federal states, at least one of the three network operators was still below the 98 percent mark.
At the end of 2022, a download of 100 Mbit per second must be possible everywhere on all motorways, on the most important federal roads and on well-frequented rail routes. All network operators still have homework to do here: on motorways, the achieved range is 93 to 99 percent, on the most important federal highways, the companies have so far covered only 90 to 96 percent of the route and on the railways 92 to 97 percent.
