Telecom News --

Vodafone continues to pave the way for a nationwide LTE Network

Dusseldorf, 23 July, 2010

• Ericsson and Huawei selected as partners
  
  
• Joussen: nationwide highspeed Internet is coming to everyone

Vodafone has made further decisions in connection with its LTE upgrade and has selected Huawei and Ericsson as technology partners. "We eventually plan to upgrade all base stations in Germany to LTE – the next generation mobile communications technology. These investments will ensure in the mid-term that the new broadband wireless standard is available to customers and in the coming years broadband Internet will be available all over Germany.

We will be commencing network extension into regions which don't currently have any coverage in the near future, providing actual transmission speeds of around 3 mbit per second right from day one," said Friedrich Joussen, CEO of Vodafone Germany. In the cities, Joussen is expecting much higher average speeds: "Mobile Internet is becoming a real fixed line alternative."

Vodafone will start work on the LTE upgrade at the end of September, and by next year 1,500 base stations will incorporate LTE technology. The communication company has been implementing field trials with HSDPA technology in rural regions over recent months, providing residents there with wireless access to the Internet. The infrastructure for Internet access is now in place in the Uckermark region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, plus Thuringia and Saxony. One major advantage of wireless Internet access in the 21st century infrastructure is that there is no need for any complex and time-consuming ground work for cable laying as the final leg of connectivity to the home via copper cable, the so-called "last mile", is no longer required. That's because high speed Internet access in rural regions will be provided via the wireless network. Mobile Internet is just as fast, reliable and efficient as a cable connection. According to Joussen, "A high-tech country like Germany needs a high tech infrastructure, both in the cities and in rural regions."

Vodafone has promised to extend its network and provide high speed Internet in rural regions where it isn't currently available within the framework of the German government's broadband initiative. "We're going to achieve the objective set by Chancellor Merkel and Trade Minister Brüderle and our network will be delivering much higher speeds than those agreed in Berlin," said Joussen. The government's wireless frequency auction was the best and most efficient way of generating the investments that are now being made in the German economy.

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