Photo: Deutsche Telekom
This means that around half of the German population can use 5G. According to Telekom, by the end of 2020 it should be two thirds of the population of the Federal Republic.
For now, the focus in 5G expansion is on the 2.1 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequency bands. Especially for the flat country, the spectrum on the 2.1 gigahertz (GHz) frequency plays a key role in 5G coverage. The physical properties of this frequency band allow a long range. At the same time, the data speed increases compared to LTE; Telekom speaks of a doubling up to a maximum of 225 Mbit / s.
However, users with these frequencies do not reach the even larger bandwidths that are possible with higher frequencies in conurbations. Because in the cities the 5G network reaches 600-800 Mbit / s at its peak. With the 3.6 GHz frequency, transmission rates of up to 1 Gbit / s and more are possible in large cities. That should be possible in Berlin or Cologne, for example, and Bremen and Dortmund, for example, should follow at such speeds in the next few weeks.
As already mentioned elsewhere, the existing LTE network also benefits from 5G expansion. Because the 4G users get another frequency band for the use of LTE and thus more bandwidth. The use of so-called Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) provides additional spectrum for LTE customers. With DSS, Telekom operates two mobile radio standards in parallel in one frequency band. The new technology distributes the spectrum as needed between LTE and 5G users. This means that LTE users can surf faster than before. (PC world)