telecommunications
Expansion of cell phone networks: 5G coverage at 89 percent
A 5G cell phone mast on a high-rise building in Düsseldorf. photo
© Roberto Pfeil/dpa
The 5G mobile communications standard enables fast downloads of huge data packages and an almost optimal response time. Now there are new figures on the expansion status.
Germany’s mobile phone providers are helping to expand Cell phone networks advance. 5G antennas already reached 89 percent of the country’s area in July, 5.1 percentage points more than six months earlier, the Federal Network Agency said upon request. Compared to July 2022, it was even an increase of 38.1 points.
The further the expansion, the more difficult it becomes. This is because in some places companies cannot find suitable land to rent on which to set up masts. With the slower wireless standard 4G, area coverage was 97.2 percent in July, an increase of 0.2 points since January 2023 and one percentage point since July 2022.
There are currently three mobile phone network operators in Germany: Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica (O2). A fourth company, 1&1, is in the starting blocks.
Best 5G coverage in Bremen, worst in Hesse
The numbers illustrate the progress. However, their meaningfulness for consumers is limited because they are bundled values: If a network operator in a village has 5G antennas, but the other two network operators do not, the village in question is still considered to be covered – even though it is customers of the other two network operators can’t get a 5G connection there. The figures come from the network operators and are published by the Federal Network Agency every three months.
Among the federal states, Hesse had the worst 5G area coverage in July with 82.5 percent; in Baden-Württemberg (82.6 percent) and Rhineland-Palatinate (82.9 percent) it was only slightly better. Things looked best in the city states, where network expansion is relatively easy. For Bremen, the telecommunications companies reported a combined 5G coverage of 99.99 percent. Among the regional states, Schleswig-Holstein achieved the best value with 96.8 percent, while Lower Saxony (92.8 percent), Saxony (92.5 percent) and North Rhine-Westphalia (92.1 percent) also did well.