Since the beginning of the year, Vodafone has installed 119 new LTE stations and 26 5G stations across the nation.Vodafone Germany has already equipped 37,000 antennas with 5G technology, according to a press release from the German carrier.

According to Vodafone Germany, these include 3,400 5G Standalone (SA) stations and approximately 10,000 5G SA antennas.

Vodafone says it has installed 119 new LTE stations and 26 5G stations since the beginning of January.

This summer, the carrier announced that its customers will be able to make their first calls over the 5G network in select locations. 5G data services are currently only available. Vodafone Germany will facilitate Voice over New Radio (VoNR) calls over its 5G network. Voice signals are converted into data packets and transmitted via 5G using this technology.

“We are not only expanding our 5G network across the board. We are also strengthening it by bringing new technologies to the network and thus making the potential of 5G tangible for our customers.”

Tanja Richter, head of technology at Vodafone

Vodafone Germany stated earlier this year that it intends to activate 2,700 new 5G sites with a total of 8,000 antennas in the first half of 2023.

Technicians from Vodafone commissioned 5,450 5G sites with over 16,000 antennas in 2022. Vodafone has already equipped 36,000 antennas with 5G, according to the company.

According to the carrier, its 5G network already provides coverage to 65 million individuals across the country, or roughly 80% of Germany’s population.

The telecommunications provider previously stated that its 5G Standalone network is presently accessible to nearly 20 million Germans. Vodafone previously stated that nationwide 5G SA coverage would be achieved by 2025.

Vodafone Germany introduced its 5G Standalone (SA) network in collaboration with Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm, and Oppo in 2018.

Vodafone relies on frequencies in the 3.6 GHz, 1.8 GHz, and 700 MHz channels for the expansion of 5G in large urban areas, residential areas and suburbs, and rural areas of Germany.

Vodafone activated its 5G network in Germany for the first time in 2019, utilizing 3.5 GHz frequencies acquired from Telefónica in 2018.

Vodafone Germany recently concluded a successful field trial with Open RAN (O-RAN) technology in Plauen, Saxony.

The German service provider had previously announced that it will conduct extensive pilot projects for open 5G radio access networks in multiple German cities. The operator’s first two O-RAN base stations are situated in rural Bavaria. Beginning in early 2023, Vodafone’s European mobile networks will begin deploying O-RAN technology on a larger scale.

The pilot initiatives will utilize the O-RAN hardware and software that Vodafone tested successfully in the United Kingdom earlier this year. Presently, Samsung is providing mobile technology and software for these O-RAN trials.

Source: RCR Wireless