The 5G expansion is making progress. 1&1 wants to be the fourth provider to bring more competition into the market. But despite today’s network launch, the company is still at the very beginning with its infrastructure.
Ownership obliges, and this is particularly true for the owners of mobile radio frequencies. By purchasing 5G licenses, the four successful bidders – Telefónica, Telekom, Vodafone and 1&1 – have committed to implementing the nationwide expansion of their networks within the specified times. All providers failed to comply with this obligation for various reasons and were reprimanded by the Federal Network Agency for this.
The three established network operators were concerned with expansion in rural areas or in tunnels. 1&1, on the other hand, has “seriously missed” its first interim goal of implementing 1,000 antenna locations by the end of 2022, as CEO Ralph Dommermuth admits. The network agency has therefore started a fine procedure against the company, which is currently ongoing. 1&1 was able to comment on the allegations, the statement is currently being examined – only then will a decision be made.
It’s about a fine of up to 50 million euros, which Dommermuth would like to avert. When asked, his spokesman Robin Schmidt expressed optimism, as the expansion has now made significant progress: “Today we are seeing noticeable progress, as the contracts with our expansion partners have been renegotiated and processes have been optimized overall. We want to continue to achieve our long-term expansion goals.”
Cartel Office examines obstruction
One of the expansion partners addressed is the company Vantage Towers, a subsidiary of Vodafone, which in turn is a competitor of 1&1 in the mobile communications business. Schmidt blames Vantage Towers for missing the requirements: “1&1 missed its target due to the almost complete and unexpected failure of its main supplier Vantage Towers and is now catching up.” The fine procedure must clarify the question of who is responsible for the expansion that was agreed but did not take place.
1&1 has decided to obtain a significant neutral opinion and has contacted the Federal Cartel Office. Schmidt says: “After our main supplier finally announced that it would almost completely miss its contractual expansion targets, we asked the cartel office to check whether there could possibly be an obstruction on the part of our supplier. The Federal Cartel Office complied and is now seeking clarity and ensure transparency.”
Network start without network
Nothing will change at all for the approximately twelve million 1&1 customers because the virtual mobile phone provider from Montabaur in Rhineland-Palatinate had the Minister for Digital, Volker Wissing (FDP), press the button to start its 5G network today. Only a few customers are actually on the 1&1 network after Wissing presses a button, because only a few locations have their own antennas.
Nevertheless, all customers who have concluded a corresponding contract can use 5G – as they have done for a long time: Through contractual agreements with the Federal Network Agency and the other mobile phone providers, initially Telefónica, then Vodafone from the summer onwards, 1&1 is allowed to use at least 30 percent of the capacity of others’ networks Providers use, including 5G. That’s why experts call 1&1 a virtual mobile network operator or MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). The company’s own network will continue to be built up for many years to come. The company wants to cover half of the country by 2030, starting with metropolitan areas.
5G allows many intelligent solutions
What will gradually become more and more noticeable, however, is the performance of 5G, which allows many new applications in everyday life. The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) names faster mobile internet, better network stability at major events, augmented reality (supplementing reality with virtual information in real time), smart cities, self-controlling traffic and smart home technology in real time.
Security aspects are to be fundamentally improved in the new network. The BSI says: “This offers the opportunity to build a significantly more reliable, resilient and secure network. The International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), the identifier of a subscriber, is transmitted in encrypted form with 5G. The transmission, which is no longer open, offers one Increased protection of data, because interception by cyber criminals using a conventional IMSI catcher is no longer possible.”
Data and content should also be better protected when roaming in foreign networks. Of course, this only applies as long as the customer is in 5G and not in one of the previous networks. It also has no influence on unsafe apps and services that do not adequately protect data.
“Open RAN” – the future of mobile communications?
Not only did Federal Minister Wissing think the 1&1 network launch was worth a trip to Montabaur today, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also sent a message of greeting and spoke of a milestone in cooperation between Japan and Germany. The reason for this is the deal between 1&1 and the Japanese company Rakuten, whose boss also came to Montabaur: Hiroshi Mikitani has become a billionaire as the founder and CEO of the Japanese technology group Rakuten. He wants nothing less than to completely reorganize the mobile communications market with the “Open RAN” standard, which would mean disempowering the few mobile communications equipment suppliers with market power and making mobile communications cheaper.
1&1 is the only one of the four German providers to rely entirely on “Open RAN” and has signed a contract with Mikitani to equip its network. By the way, he leaves out the Chinese Huawei company, whose activities for the Chinese state apparatus are unclear.
This makes Dommermuth a welcome major customer for Mikitani because one of the first; Conversely, Mikitani, with his experience and teething problems in Japan when it comes to “Open RAN”, is a useful expert for Dommermuth for his “most modern mobile phone network in Germany”. 1&1 had already advertised this and, according to the Koblenz regional court, is now allowed to continue doing so. Deutsche Telekom sued against the slogan and was defeated in March.
Idea of an open radio network
The “Open RAN” technology stands for “Open Radio Access Network” and thus for the concept of an open radio access network. In contrast to other networks, where all components are often provided by a single provider such as Huawei or Ericsson, “Open RAN” combines different manufacturers on the market.
Each new network generation such as LTE, UMTS or 5G was associated with high investments in the infrastructure for the operators in addition to license costs for the radio frequencies. A few network suppliers dictated the prices. If network operators can connect software and hardware from different providers via standardized interfaces, this strengthens their negotiating position. 1&1 therefore expects falling prices and faster innovations.
Certainly in the future?
However, it is also true that Deutsche Telekom, which still works with around two thirds of Huawei components, had bad experiences with “Open RAN” in its first field tests last year and that widespread use of the technology is more likely in the second half of the decade sees. Problems arose with the energy efficiency of the systems, the interaction of the components and the functionality of the antennas. Telekom Germany boss Srini Gopalan told “WirtschaftsWoche” at the end of 2022: “We are fully committed to Open RAN. And we will install it on our radio towers next year. But it is clearly not finished yet.”
In particular, providers and suppliers of conventional technology also warn of security gaps due to the open interfaces in “Open RAN”. “Open RAN” would run counter to their successful business model. Stefan Katzenbeisser, holder of the Chair of Computer Engineering at the University of Passau, sees no security gaps in “Open RAN”: “The systems are in no way less secure than existing systems. Open interfaces are protected with encryption procedures.”
He sees this as the future of mobile communications: “In the future, providers will have to cooperate in order to reduce the enormous investment costs when setting up new networks. ‘Open RAN’ offers suitable interfaces not only within the networks, but also between the providers. At the latest If 6G possibly comes after 2030, such collaborations will probably become unavoidable.”