Network 2014

Due to Corona, many companies allow their employees to work flexibly. Home office is more or less standard and no longer just a voluntary goodie of attractive employers. At the same time, companies need to keep an even closer eye on operating costs in these particularly challenging economic times. This is where O₂ Business delvers added value: with the new solution consisting of Managed Microsoft 365 and a virtual telephone system, O₂ Business creates a modern and cost-efficient workplace of the future for companies. With its attractive price-performance ratio and with an additional savings potential of up to 46 percent, O₂ Business offers companies the economic basis to be able to act financially efficiently.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is accelerating the shutdown of its 3G network in various regions of Germany. Instead of the originally planned implementation by the end of the year, the company will now convert the majority of 3G sites as early as September and carry out the last large-scale shutdowns by mid-November. The company began shutting down the 3G network in individual regions on July 1.

As a partner of Messe München, Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is setting up comprehensive 5G high-performance mobile communications coverage at the trade fair grounds and for the adjacent A94 motorway. Just in time for the IAA MOBILITY from 7-12 September in Munich, the trade fair in the Bavarian capital is thus also launching into the 5G era.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂, in cooperation with the energy provider Mainova, has put Hesse's first smart 5G street light into operation in Frankfurt am Main.

Telefónica / O₂ delivered record revenue and operating profit in the first half of fiscal year 2021. Based on the strong operational and financial momentum in the first half of the year, the company raises its guidance for fiscal year 2021.

O₂ Business has developed a new digital networking solution for SMEs that enables companies to easily network their company locations and securely set up existing infrastructures for the digital age. The O₂ Business Smart Network product is based on SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Network) technology.

O₂ is now offering its O₂ my Home tariffs via Tele Columbus' 2.4 million Internet-enabled cable connections. From July 21, 2021, the O₂ brand is thus expanding the network infrastructure for its fixed-network offering, which is implemented via a broad and unique technology mix of DSL, cable, fiber and 4G/5G mobile. Being already connected to the Vodafone cable network, O₂ will then reach more than 26 million households with fixed-network services via cable connections through its partnership with Tele Columbus, Germany's second-largest cable network provider.

The rapid network expansion of Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is making itself felt in a significantly better network quality and thus also in a strong increase in data usage by customers. The company's approximately 44 million customers are sending more and more mobile data through the nationwide O₂ mobile network. This is mainly due to the increasing popularity of music and video streaming as well as sharing photos and videos on social media or via messaging apps such as WhatsApp. In the past six months alone, the O₂ network transported around 1 billion gigabytes of data volume - an all-time high in Germany's mobile networks. This means that data usage in the O₂ network has doubled in a period of only two years.

O₂ has started the 5G expansion turbo: In the O₂ 5G network, almost 2,000 5G antennas in around 80 cities are already transmitting on the high-performance 3.6 GHz frequency specially designated for 5G. O₂ customers thus receive higher speeds, additional network capacities and thus an optimal network experience overall. Telefónica Deutschland CEO Markus Haas talked about the current progress of the network expansion offensive and the benefits of 5G for consumers and the economy on the occasion of a "5G theme day" with the news channel ntv (ntv Telebörse on July 2, 9 a.m.). The special feature: For the first time, the interview was broadcasted in real time to the ntv studio via O₂'s own 5G network in Munich.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ starts the future of mobile gaming: for the first time, the provider has brought modern virtual reality (VR) games to life via its new O₂ 5G standalone live mobile network. During the premiere in Munich, O₂ showed the game Half Life Alyx, which was named VR Game of the Year 2020 several times. Here, O₂ is working with its partners Ericsson and NVIDIA. Compared to normal computer games, which are shown on a monitor or smartphone display, virtual reality gaming uses VR glasses to immerse players in an interactive 3D environment in which they can look around and move freely. Mobile virtual reality gaming is therefore considered a very demanding digital application that requires extremely short latencies, fast data throughput rates, and very high reliability, which de facto only 5G Standalone can offer in mobile communications. This is the final expansion stage of the mobile communications standard, in which 5G operates completely decoupled from the existing 4G standard.

O₂, the core brand of Telefónica Deutschland, is setting a visible sign for diversity and tolerance today for the European Championship match. Starting at 9 p.m., the 37th floor of the O₂ Tower, the tallest building in Munich at 146 meters, will shine in rainbow colors from all sides. In this way, the company makes a visible statement that will shine in the Munich night sky from sunset onwards. In addition, the O₂ logos on the O₂ Tower will be presented in rainbow colors by laser.

The O₂ brand is expanding the range of its 5G-capable mobile tariffs. From July 6, all new and existing customers will be able to use the latest mobile communications standard with any of the O₂ Free Unlimited tariffs or a volume tariff from the O₂ Free M onwards. This means that 5G tariffs are available from O₂ from €29.99 per month. When taking out a new contract for one of these tariffs, 5G will automatically be included for O₂ customers, existing customers can book the free "5G access" package¹.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ put its 1,500th 5G antenna into operation in the O₂ network. The company has thus achieved an important intermediate step in its ambitious 5G network expansion program. All 1,500 5G antennas in the O₂ network transmit over the powerful 3.6 GHz frequency, which already offers O₂ customers in 60 cities particularly high data transmission rates, extremely short response times and thus an optimal network experience. Exactly two years ago, the telecommunications provider purchased the frequencies at auction from the German Federal Network Agency. Now Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is expanding its network across Germany with these frequencies on a prioritized basis. This year, the company will further accelerate its 5G rollout and provide more and more cities and regions with 5G.

Starting 1 July, Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ will begin the large-scale shutdown of its 3G network. The resources previously required for 3G will make way for the significantly more powerful 4G network by the end of the year. To this end, the telecommunications provider will use the frequencies of the currently around 16,000 3G transmitters on 2,100 MHz for 4G in the future. O₂ customers as well as customers of Telefónica Deutschland's other own and partner brands will thus benefit from an even better network experience. Compared to 3G, 4G offers customers additional network capacities, higher surfing speeds and significantly shorter response times for mobile data usage. For all O₂ customers still using a device limited to 3G, O₂ is providing attractive offers for new devices.

Telefónica Deutschland and 1&1 Drillisch have agreed upon the long-term stipulations of their future cooperation in a National Roaming Agreement (NRA) and signed a corresponding contract on 21 May 2021. With the conclusion of the NRA and as part of the overall agreement, the remaining ongoing price reviews initiated by 1&1 Drillisch will no longer be pursued.

Telefónica / O₂ got off to a good start in the 2021 financial year. Despite headwinds from COVID-19 effects, the company grew profitably in the first quarter of 2021. Driven by continued strong operating momentum across all businesses, revenues increased 0.2 percent to 1.85 billion euros and adjusted operating income OIBDA grew 5.5 percent to 562 million euros.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ was the first network operator in Germany to bundle several mobile frequencies in its 5G network at the innovation site in Munich back in April. This accelerates 5G for O₂ customers and ensures a stable high data throughput. With the combination of two frequency bands, the 5G data highway between the customer and the mobile communications system thus gets about twice as many lanes as before.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is continuing its own network expansion offensive in 2021 - with a much stronger focus on 5G and the technological transformation of the network. Following the largest 4G network expansion program in the company's history with over 11,000 new 4G transmitters in the previous year, O₂ is now igniting the 5G expansion turbo. In addition, as a pioneer, O₂ is focusing on technological innovations such as 5G carrier aggregation, 5G standalone, Open RAN and exciting 5G industry solutions via the cloud this year.

Wayra Germany, the Innovation Hub of Telefónica / O₂, opens up access to state-of-the-art technology for startups to develop new 5G-based applications with its unique 5G Tech Lab | Telefónica / O₂ has built the first 5G standalone network in Munich for this purpose | 5G network uses 3.7 GHz frequencies with 100 MHz bandwidth, which Telefónica / O₂ acquired from the Federal Network Agency for the operation of a local campus network | Kick-off for startups: Unmanned Life, Eyecandylab, Haltian and YBVR present 5G applications such as mobile gaming, augmented reality and autonomous drones

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ closes the financial year 2020 with a strong performance during the overall economic recession. Thanks in particular to strong interest in higher-value mobile and fixed-network products from the core O₂ brand, customer base and data volumes increased significantly. As a result, the company was able to increase its revenue and operating results (OIBDA). In terms of revenue and mobile customer accesses, the company grew faster than the competition. Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ has fully achieved its targets and confirms its medium-term growth objectives.

Today, 1&1 Drillisch has bindingly accepted Telefónica Deutschland's National Roaming offer dated 5 February 2021. The companies are extending their long-term partnership by converting the current MBA MVNO contract into a National Roaming Agreement (NRA) under the remedy framework from the Telefónica Deutschland and E-Plus merger in 2014. Now, the parties are aiming to finalise the contractual details of the NRA by mid-May 2021.

Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ is one of eleven companies headquartered in Germany to be included in the highly regarded Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI). It thus provides a good example of the transparent promotion of equal opportunities for women in the workplace, backed up by clear ambitions and key figures. And an international McKinsey & Company study from 2020 shows how important this is for corporate success: companies with high gender diversity are 25 percent more likely to be profitable than average.

Michael Falkensteiner (37) will take up the post of Director Brand & Marketing Communications at Telefónica Deutschland / O₂ on February 1, 2021. In this role, he will be responsible for the core brand O₂ as well as the secondary brand BLAU and will report to Wolfgang Metze, Member of the Management Board responsible for private customers.