Telefónica Germany

Together with telecommunications company Telefónica Deutschland and network supplier Ericsson, Mercedes-Benz Cars is putting in place the world's first 5G mobile network for automobile production in its "Factory 56" in Sindelfingen.

In a short interview, Cayetano Carbajo Martín, Chief Technology Officer of Telefónica Deutschland, talks about the importance of the deployment of private networks for the company and the role that telecommunications providers will play in the future.

In the mobile radio frequency auction that has come to an end, Telefónica Deutschland has secured 90 MHz nationwide spectrum for the high-performance mobile radio standard 5G with a running time up to 2040.

The end of the 5G frequency auction is only the beginning of a necessary overall mobile communications concept for all participants from industry and politics to trigger sustainable investment impulses for Germany's digital infrastructure.

Telefónica Deutschland continues to go full speed ahead with the expansion of its O₂ LTE network: In April 2019 alone, the telecommunications provider built more than 800 new LTE stations or upgraded the capacity of existing LTE locations throughout Germany.

Today 21 May is UNESCO's World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Telefónica Deutschland is not only committed to diversity and gender equality, but also has employees from 74 different cultures in Germany alone. From A for Afghanistan to V for United States: The Telefónica Deutschland team consists of 74 different cultures. Numerous colleagues have their roots in Spain, the USA, Croatia, Turkey, Italy and Greece. But there are also more distant countries like Australia or Mauritius.

Telefónica makes a global commitment to a “new digital deal” with the goal of delivering responsible digitalisation that benefits everybody. With ethical principles to govern the application of artificial intelligence as well as nationwide support programs such as “Digital Mobility for Seniors”, Telefónica Deutschland is promoting practical steps. The telecommunications company presented the current and German edition of its Digital Manifesto to politicians and association representatives on 8 May 2019 in Berlin.

Telefónica Deutschland has started 2019 with a strong momentum and at the same time has laid the foundations for the mobile network of the future. Due to the dynamic partner business and the strong demand for O₂ Free tariffs and mobile devices, revenues adjusted for regulatory effects rose by 1.3 percent to EUR 1.79 billion in the first quarter.

The telecommunications providers Telefónica Deutschland and Vodafone have agreed that Telefónica Deutschland will have access to Vodafone's and Unitymedia’s cable network in Germany. With the access to the cable network, Telefónica Deutschland is significantly expanding and improving its nationwide fixed-network offering with high-speed internet, including its capability to provide high quality over-the-top internet-based TV services.

Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG has successfully placed a promissory note loan with a volume of EUR 360 million via its subsidiary Telefónica Germany GmbH & Co. OHG. The final amount exceeded the original target volume by EUR 210 million because of high demand.

Telefónica Deutschland once again stepped up the pace of its LTE expansion across its O₂ network in the first quarter of 2019. The new LTE stations that the company built together with the LTE upgrades to existing locations that it performed numbered over 2,200 in the first three months overall.

From 2 May, O₂ will be offering an IPTV product perfectly attuned to its customers’ modern lives: O₂ TV powered by waipu.tv allows you to watch live TV at any time, from anywhere from just EUR 4.99 per month – whether at home or on the go, on your television, smartphone or tablet.

Telefónica Deutschland further intensified its network expansion measures in the first few months of 2019. In February 2019 alone, the company performed more than 900 LTE upgrades nationwide. With more than 220 LTE upgrades a week in February, Telefónica Deutschland nearly doubled the rate of its LTE expansion in comparison to the previous year. The network quality was noticeably improved further in many regions across Germany. After 6,700 very extensive LTE upgrades in 2018, the company is pursuing a unique mission this year: Around 10,000 LTE upgrades will advance LTE network coverage in the country toward full coverage and add to its coverage in cities.

The auction of the 5G frequencies started on 19 March at the premises of the Federal Network Agency in Mainz. In the course of the auction 420 MHz from the ranges 2 GHz and 3.6 GHz will be auctioned in 41 blocks.

In the 2018 financial year, Telefónica Deutschland achieved its targets and essentially completed the integration of E-Plus. Excluding regulatory impact, revenue increased by 0.9 percent. This was primarily due to the strong end device business and the sustained strong demand for mobile tariffs with large data volumes. The operating result (OIBDA) continued to develop positively.

After the successful completion of the integration, CEO Markus Haas will lead Telefónica Deutschland through its digital transformation In today’s meeting, the Supervisory Board of Telefónica Deutschland resolved upon the further appointment of Markus Haas as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) until 31 December 2022 and agreed with him to extend his contract accordingly.

Telefónica Deutschland and Samsung Electronics have successfully piloted fixed wireless access (FWA) with 5G in Hamburg. The pilot of the 5G gigabit technology took place from December 2018 to February 2019 in the district of Hamm in Hamburg. A number of private households participated in the free pilot.

"The Telefónica Group has declared worldwide that it will only use artificial intelligence in accordance with explicitly formulated ethical principles", said Telefónica Deutschland CEO Markus Haas at the Telefónica BASECAMP in Berlin on 13 February 2019. Telefónica Deutschland has interpreted these principles for the local market. They are intended to give the company direction when it is working with data and artificial intelligence, thereby supporting the positive impact of technology on society.

Telefónica Deutschland is seeking legal clarity on the auction design for the upcoming 5G mobile communications standard with an urgent court application for the forthcoming auction procedure. This has no influence on the timetable for the network expansion of the technology.

Telefónica Deutschland massively expanded its LTE network in all German states in 2018. In total, the company expanded the O₂ network with more than 6,700 additional LTE stations throughout Germany. Telefónica Deutschland has thus enabled millions of people, even in rural areas, to use mobile high-speed Internet and modern digital applications and to make calls with top sound quality thanks to Voice over LTE (VoLTE).