German federal government drives the expansion of mobile networks by offering postponing of 5G licence fee payment in exchange for development of LTE networks in rural areas. The government signed agreements with the four MNOs Telekom, Vodafone, Telefonica and 1&1 Drillisch on coverage of 99% of households by the end of 2020 in exchange for extending the payment obligation for 5G licences awarded in June this year until 2030, reported DPA.
Network operators already have an obligation to provide mobile broadband to 98 percent of households across Germany by January 2020. This condition was imposed on them when auctioning frequencies in 2015. Now it should be 99 percent of households.
The legally binding contract signed on 5 September by the federal government and the four mobile operators provides for nationwide coverage of 99% of households by the end of 2020 and 99% of households in each state by 2021 – including rural states.
To meet the targets, more than 1,400 new towers will have to be built. To share the financial burden the operators expressed their willingness to cooperate more strongly. The additional towers shall be open for use by any operator.
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