Status: 07/20/2021 2:43 p.m.
In rural areas of Germany, cell phone reception is still patchy, for example in the areas of the Eifel affected by the flood disaster. Vodafone is now proposing to open the networks.
Cell phone users still need patience in some areas of Germany. There are still dead spots, especially in rural areas. As shown in a report published by the Federal Network Agency in June, the supply is poor or non-existent on eleven percent of the country’s area. According to the report, 3.8 percent of the area is considered a dead zone: No reception at all or only the slow 2G standard is possible.
In the storm areas in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, cell phone reception is patchy because many of the masts have been bent. In order to provide a quick remedy, the mobile operator Vodafone has now proposed to open the networks of the individual operators. “We would be ready for it,” said a Vodafone spokesman. That would mean that customers of the competition would be connected to the Vodafone network if their provider does not have working antennas within range. In technical jargon, the procedure used primarily in cross-border mobile communications is called roaming.
Network operators reluctant – either all or none?
Spokespeople for Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica (O2) were cautious. One stands in exchange with the other network operators and discusses “what is technically possible and useful to help the local people as quickly as possible,” said a telecom spokesman for the news agency dpa. Telefónica made a similar statement. The priority is to rebuild their own facilities. The technicians of the three network operators have been in the disaster areas for days and are working on restoring their networks.
Nevertheless, the companies are also discussing the possibility of roaming. According to participants, the outcome is completely open. Telefónica said that “the very complex and time-consuming implementation” of roaming could only be “implemented jointly by all network operators” in the disaster areas. If one of the three network operators opens its network, the other two would have to do the same. Because if the competition didn’t do it, his network would be threatened with overload. The antennas are geared towards the needs of the respective network operator, says the Telekom spokesman. “If three times as many customers were to access an antenna at once, this antenna would no longer offer sufficient capacity.” The networks are not designed for this.
There is a lot of catching up to do in many areas
The spokesman for the Bonn group doubts whether a short-term disaster area roaming would bring any major improvement. Because if a place is devastated and the power supply is still not working there, or if cable routes over bridges are destroyed, then it affects all providers equally, he said. Several hundred mobile phone stations went offline as a result of the storm, but most of them are back in operation.
Nevertheless, all experts agree that Germany still has some catching up to do in terms of nationwide coverage with cellular networks. According to the Federal Network Agency, 7.2 percent of the total area of Germany are gray spots. Only one of the three cellular networks in the 4G standard can be received here, whether from Telekom, Vodafone or Telefónica. According to the Federal Network Agency, it is particularly the southern federal states that are relatively poorly supplied. A maximum of one single cell phone network can be received on 15.5 percent of the area of Bavaria, and in Baden-Württemberg (15.1 percent) and Rhineland-Palatinate (15.9 percent) the chances of good reception in rural areas are rather poor.