Network 2020

Telefónica / O₂ is taking a technological frontrunner role in the use of Open RAN. The company is the first German network operator to rely on Open RAN in live operation of its mobile network. With the open and vendor-independent solution for the radio access network (RAN), the company is launching a new era for German mobile communications. Open RAN can not only significantly change the supplier structure in the mobile communications sector worldwide, but also significantly accelerate the introduction of new services. Network operators and industry alike will benefit from this. In a pilot phase, Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is converting three O₂ mobile sites in Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria. From fall 2021, the company plans to roll out the new technology on a larger scale in the O₂ network.

In 2020, Telefónica Germany / O₂ will be vigorously expanding the 4G network as part of the largest network offensive in the company's history. Now the company is reporting an important success: 98 percent of households in Germany are now covered by 4G, thus fulfilling the nationwide requirement of the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA).

In the current mobile network test by trade magazine connect, the O₂ network secured a "very good" rating for the first time in the 25-year history of Telefónica Deutschland / O₂. The toughest industry benchmark in the country thus confirms the decisive breakthrough in network quality that O₂ has achieved with its 4G expansion offensive. All three German mobile networks are moving closer together in the evaluation and are on a par with each other with the grade "very good". The O₂ network improved most significantly with a plus of 94 points to a meanwhile record of 852 points. In terms of mobile data usage, the O₂ network is now the second best provider in Germany.

Strong performance in the CHIP network test 2020: Thanks to the comprehensive network expansion offensive, the O₂ network makes the biggest quality leap (+25 percent) across all network operators this year and is catching up closely with the competition. O₂ again receives an overall "good" rating, but improves it to a strong 1.59 (after 2.3 in the previous year). The network thus missed the leap to "very good" (from 1.50) by a hair's breadth – a motivation for further network expansion and the coming year. Especially pleasing for O₂ customers: The CHIP network test certifies the O₂ network a very good network quality for mobile calls and data usage as well as a good 4G availability – also in rural areas and along train routes.

"Compared to last year, O₂ has made enormous progress in LTE coverage" - that is the conclusion of this year's network test of trade magazine COMPUTER BILD ("The best network for 2021"). The O₂ network once again secured an overall "Good" (2.4) rating and improved in numerous important categories. This year's score is based on much stricter measurement criteria. For the first time, only 4G data connections are considered and 3G connections are no longer rated. Particularly pleasing for O₂ customers: The O₂ network is taking the biggest step forward in 4G availability in rural areas across all operators and is improving significantly. In addition, the O₂ network cuts a good figure in large cities and leaves the competition behind in some cities.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is once again accelerating its network expansion: By the end of 2021, the network operator will convert the existing 3G technology of its O₂ network to more powerful 4G technology - one year ahead of schedule. Customers of all brands of Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ will benefit from a better network experience in their daily data usage. O₂ customers will be able to surf the web significantly faster via the 4G network than on the former 3G basis and the voice quality will improve noticeably. With this decision it is also clear: By the end of 2021 3G will be a thing of the past in Germany. Mobile phone customers in this country will in future only use the significantly faster 4G and 5G standards for mobile applications such as social media or music and video streaming.

Parallel to the current launch of the O₂ 5G network, Telefónica Germany / O₂ is also making great strides in the 4G expansion. The company has reached the second interim target set by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) for the subsequent fulfillment of the supply requirement from the frequency auction 2015 on time by 30 September 2020. In total, O₂ has installed 5089 new 4G stations since the beginning of the year, more than the required 4940.

On the 30th anniversary of the German unification, Telefónica Germany / O₂ enters the 5G era. In cooperation with the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder, the CEO of the Munich-based company Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ switches on the 5G network of O₂. "We are starting off the data turbo for digitization from Bavaria, for Germany", said Markus Haas at the switch-on ceremony.

On October 3, O₂ will launch the 5G network in the five largest German cities Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne. This way the core brand of Telefónica Germany sets a sign for digital progress and mobile freedom in a symbolic virtual act on the 30th anniversary of German reunification. The same also applies to the new mobile communications standard: O₂ democratizes high-tech. By offering the best value-for-money 5G proposition, O₂ will open up access to the 5G experience to all consumers. O₂ private customers will enter the 5G era with the commercial marketing of the offers on 6 October. They can use 5G from day one at no extra charge. Attractive offers for O₂ business customers will follow soon. They will all experience completely new dimensions of digitalisation with O₂ in the future.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ has broken the 20,000 mark for 4G coverage of mobile phone sites with its current network expansion offensive. Since the beginning of the year, the network operator has set up around 4,000 4G stations to provide numerous towns and districts with mobile O₂ high-speed networks for the first time. In addition, more than 2,000 additional 4G stations are in operation at existing locations to provide more capacity and higher surfing speeds for mobile data use. Thus, O₂ network engineers have improved the 4G mobile coverage for over 5.5 million people in the O₂ network since the beginning of the year. The 4G mobile communications standard enables O₂ customers to use all digital applications even when they are on the move.

Today, the car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz Cars put one of the world's most modern car production facilities into operation - an all-digital, flexible and green factory - the "Factory 56". A core element of the new, fully networked production facility in Sindelfingen will be the 5G campus network that Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ has built for Mercedes-Benz Cars in cooperation with network equipment supplier Ericsson. The fifth generation of mobile communications will connect machines and systems intelligently, securely, wirelessly and in real time. In future, the network will be used in ongoing automobile production.

Telefónica Germany / O₂ is the first German network operator to build its 5G core network as well as crucial 5G network functions for new industry solutions in the cloud. Via the cloud-based 5G core network, new industry solutions can be developed faster, production and logistics processes can be automated even more and applications implemented in real-time (edge computing). In an industrial use case proof of concept, Telefónica Germany / O₂ will use Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its proven cloud infrastructure to virtualize its 5G core. In addition, the company is relying on 5G core and orchestration components from the Swedish telecommunications supplier Ericsson.

O₂ is more popular than ever with its dealers. This is shown by the results of the latest reader survey conducted by Telecom Handel, the trade magazine for telecommunications. The readers of the renowned Munich trade magazine, predominantly telecommunications retailers from all over Germany, voted O₂ the best mobile phone provider of the year. The mobile phone brand is thus continuing its series of successes in retail.

In the fight against the coronavirus, Telefónica Deutschland is supporting an international research association to develop therapies and vaccinations. The telecommunications provider is providing a data centre for the volunteer computing project folding@home.

Telefónica Deutschland is building the o2 mobile network of the future. For the particularly security-relevant 5G core network, the company is relying on a European provider in the form of the Swedish telecommunications supplier Ericsson. With this groundbreaking decision, the company is setting the course for a secure, digital network for the country in the coming 5G era.

The current challenges around the corona topic influence the private and professional life of millions of people. Many customers are at home, working from their home office, looking after their children or are in contact with their schools and universities via the Internet. The O₂ network has a very special role to play in meeting people's increased need for information and communication in these times. More than ever, we are dependent on mobile networking.

In the current exceptional situation due to corona, the discussion about mobility analyses based on mobile radio data has gained momentum again. The question is whether and how these analyses can help to contain the corona virus.

The current corona issue affects the whole of society. O₂ is assuming responsibility and providing its customers with the best possible support in these challenging times: A special measure will ensure the basic communicative supply of all O₂ private and business customers as well as customers of the second brand BLUE (both prepaid and postpaid). In the coming weeks, they will be able to keep up to date with the latest developments and stay in touch with family and friends without restrictions - by telephone or video telephony, via WhatsApp and other digital channels.

5G you can touch - this is what Telefónica Deutschland is now offering at BASECAMP in the middle of Berlin. The first 5G indoor campus solution in the capital city enables all interested parties to try out the new wireless technology. In addition, the company will be promoting the exchange of information on the key topics relating to 5G at BASECAMP. The official opening ceremony with Telefónica CEO Markus Haas, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO Kaspersky, the President of the Federal Office for Information Security Arne Schönbohm and moderator and journalist Dunja Hayali marked the start of the event.

With its strong performance, the O₂ network secures the grade "good" in the current mobile phone benchmark 2020 of PC Magazin and PC Go, two sister magazines of the trade magazine connect. This puts the network on an equal footing with the other network operators* in the rating ("good"). The O₂ network convinced in various categories and thus once again demonstrates its reliability and performance in the digital customer's everyday life.

Telefónica Deutschland has secured a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) amounting to 450 million euros. The company intends to use the proceeds to build an energy-efficient 5G network and to upgrade its LTE network. In December, Telefónica Deutschland announced that it would significantly increase its investment in the mobile network in 2020 and 2021.

The mobility of the future is becoming tangible: The telecommunications provider Telefónica, together with the German testing company DEKRA, has inaugurated a new test centre for networked and autonomous driving in Malaga, Spain. On the premises, the companies are testing modern 5G solutions and "Vehicle to Everything" (V2X) vehicle technologies together with other cooperation partners from the automotive and technology sector.

In the past twelve months, customers sent almost 1 billion gigabytes of data volume through the O₂ mobile network - also because self-employed people and small businesses are using more and more mobile data. This shows that the O₂ tariffs with their large data volumes at attractive prices meet the needs of customers. For private customers, O₂ will, as just announced, equip the new data tariffs with twice as much performance at the same price and offer three new unlimited tariffs.

The O₂ network establishes the Exabyte era in German mobile communications: In the past twelve months, customers sent almost 1 billion gigabytes of data volume through the O₂ mobile network. This corresponds to about one Exabyte of mobile data. Never before has so much been consumed. With this data volume, you could stream music for more than 1.5 million years at a stretch. In a competitive comparison, the O₂ network is therefore at the forefront when it comes to mobile data usage in Germany.

The decade of mobile communications is starting with new records and an outstanding firework of data. On New Year's Eve 2019/20, customers in the O₂ network consumed more data than ever before. In the first hour of the new year (0-1 o'clock) alone, around 190,000 GB of data flowed through the O₂ mobile network - a new record!