Also an Underdog included
The federal government wants to push ahead with the expansion of the 5G frequency. Until last Friday, companies could apply to the Federal Network Agency. Mobile phone holes and slow internet will soon be a part of the past.
After the application deadline, four candidates were on the list. According to insider information from the Federal Network Agency, the German newspaper Handelsblatt reports about Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica. But not only the big players want to participate in the auction for the expansion of the 5G frequencies: the underdog United Internet is also up for debate. The provider includes brands such as 1&1 Drillisch, GMX and web.de. The goal of the Internet provider is above all to establish the 1&1 Drillisch brand as the fourth mobile network operator in Germany.
Above all, the major network operators such as Telekom, Vodafone and Telefónica have an interest in winning the frequencies auction for themselves: Companies could feel the effects of abandoning this area for years and years.
5G expansion will be expensive
The bidding process will begin in Mainz already in spring 2019. In the so-called “bunker” of the Federal Network Agency, the frequencies for UMTS mobile communications had already come under the hammer in summer 2000. At that time, the highest bid was over EUR 50 billion. However, it is unlikely that the same amount of money will flow over the counter this time.
The reason for this is that the expansion itself is associated with high costs. In addition to the costs for the frequency auction, there is also the expansion of the technology. In order to use 5G fully, additional antennas have to be installed. Timotheus Höttges, head of Deutsche Telekom, therefore emphasized that the higher the bid at the auction, the less money would be available for expansion.
The 5G frequency offers users a mobile network in real time. The data speed should be 100 times faster than the currently fastest 4G (LTE) network. Companies in particular hope that this will enable them to drive the development of industry 4.0 forward.
Telekom presents rough concept
According to a survey by the Reuters news agency, large DAX companies such as Siemens, Volkswagen and BASF want to establish their own local 5G networks.
Telekom has good chances of winning the contract. Not only has the Group been the only applicant to submit a plan for the expansion, it has also already connected over 80 percent of Telekom antennas to the fiber optic network. This is mandatory for the full 5G performance. Both Vodafone and Telefónica are far behind the Bonn-based Group in this process. But the final winner of the auction will not be known until spring.