CEO Tim Hottges announced the German telecoms giant’s investment plans at a press conference in Berlin, saying it will reach 90% with 5G coverage by the same year. In the announcement, Hoettges revealed it will hit the same numbers with LTE by 2021.
The announcement followed the revelation that around 80% of Deutsche Telekom’s 27,000 mobile sites are now linked to fibre connectivity, which will support its 5G plans. The German incumbent has already laid over 500,000km.
The plan, according to Hoettges, is to launch a commercial 5G service in 2020 in order to take advantage of more 5G-ready handsets being made available. These are expected to launch next year, according to a number of handset manufacturers.
Deutsche will also roll out more fibre, with an expansion of its fibre-to-the-curb footprint, adding to the 80% already covered.
“5G is not just another network,” Hoettges said. “It is an essential element when it comes to adding value to our customer’s products. We need 5G for the Internet of Things and for controlling autonomous machines or smart cities.”
