Mobile communication expansion: Germany's mobile phone networks have gotten a little bit better

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Going online on the go: Doesn't yet work as intended everywhere in the country

Photo: LUIS ALVAREZ/Getty Images

When it comes to expanding mobile communications, Germany's network operators still have a long way to go to meet their supply obligations in good time.

This shows a paper from the Federal Network Agency, which is available to the German Press Agency.

The document refers to conditions to which the network operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica (O2) committed themselves at the 2019 frequency auction and which they must meet by the end of 2022.

One obligation states that in every federal state at least 98 percent of households must be able to access a mobile phone network with a download rate of at least 100 megabits per second (Mbit/s).

Until January 2022, this requirement was met by all three network operators in only four federal states, as the paper shows.

In the city states of Berlin, Bremen and Hamburg, 100 Mbit/s coverage is already 100 percent of households.

In the state of North Rhine-Westphalia it is already 99 percent.

In its paper, the regulatory authority states the mobile coverage of the three operators in the form of a range that reflects the best and worst coverage.

For Bavaria, for example, 88 to 98 percent mobile phone coverage is given.

The telecommunications company that is furthest along in terms of expansion already supplies 98 percent of the state's households with the required 100 Mbit/s, while the company that is slowest only provides 88 percent.

However, the document does not show which of the three network operators is slow and who is fast.

After the 2015 frequency auction, Telefónica had great difficulties in meeting the network expansion requirements at the time - the Munich team only reached the goal late.

Telekom and Vodafone had fewer problems with it.

According to the Federal Network Agency, no company in three federal states met 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.

By the end of 2022, it must also be possible to download 100 Mbit/s via mobile networks on all motorways, on the most important federal roads and on well-frequented rail routes.

In order to be able to meet this requirement, all network operators still have to do a few things: According to the paper from the Federal Network Agency, the range achieved along the German trunk road network is only 93 to 99 percent.

So far, the companies have only covered 90 to 96 percent of the routes on the most important federal highways, and 92 to 97 percent on the railways.

mak/dpa