Bundesnetzagentur registers progress in 5G rollout
Year of issue 2023
Date of issue 2023.12.19
The Bundesnetzagentur's latest mobile communications monitoring results show substantial progress in 5G network rollout in 2023. 5G coverage by at least one network operator has increased to 90% of the country (as at October 2023), compared to about 79% a year earlier. Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Vodafone Deutschland each provide 5G coverage to between 59% and 77% of the country. End-users need a 5G device and a corresponding contract to use the 5G technology.
More 5G measurement points in broadband tests
The strong progress in 5G rollout is also reflected in the tests made by end-users with the Bundesnetzagentur's broadband and dead spot checker app. The proportion of measurement points accounted for by 5G has increased to about 25% (as at October 2023), compared to about 17% in October 2022. 4G is still the main technology, although its share is decreasing, with around 70% of all measurement points, compared to about 77% the year before.
5G rollout in stages
5G rollout in Germany has progressed in stages. Early 5G networks were mainly based on existing 4G infrastructure and used 5G DSS (dynamic spectrum sharing). These networks are a type of 5G NSA (non-standalone) network. In 5G DSS networks, the available spectrum is shared between 4G and 5G and is allocated dynamically to end-users' devices according to demand.
Later stages of the rollout focus increasingly on 5G SA (standalone), where only 5G infrastructure is used in both the radio access and the core network. End-users benefit here from better coverage and, as a rule, higher data rates.
Data and information relating to the mobile communications monitoring and broadband tests are available on the Gigabit Register website at gigabitgrundbuch.bund.de (in German).