Deutsche Telekom to launch ‘ultra-mobile’ deployable solution

Deutsche Telekom said that around a dozen companies are currently testing the mast

German carrier Deutsche Telekom said it is relying on ultra-mobile transmission mast to fulfill with short-term requirements due to festivals or large construction sites.

A few months ago, Deutsche Telekom developed a prototype called the “mobile phone mast-to-go.” Around a dozen companies are testing the mast, the carrier said in a release.

“With our call to test our ultra-mobile cell phone mast, we have aroused great interest from companies in a wide range of industries. This high demand shows that the need for a flexible mobile communications solution is there – even among business customers. This has confirmed our commitment to offering this innovation ‘made by Telekom’ commercially in the future,” said Klaus Werner, managing director of business customers at Telekom Deutschland.

The first testers include Swiss construction and real estate service provider Implenia. The company will supply its bridge construction site in Bad Lobenstein, in Thuringia, with 5G and 4G/LTE during the two-year construction phase. The construction site in the valley could not be reached by the conventional cell phone towers in the area, the telco said.

Deutsche Telekom’s cell tower-to-go supplies the construction site with communication services. For Implenia, this basic mobile phone coverage is also an ideal basis for IoT applications, which are used by the construction company to optimize processes and material flows on the construction site. The cell phone mast is connected to the network at the bridge construction site via fiber optics. However, the German carrier said it will also test satellite connectivity for this solution in the future.

The entire mobile radio transmission technology fits into a compact micro container with a length 1.6 meters, a width of 2 meters and a height of 2.6 meters. The micro container can be connected to a local power supply or powered by any other mobile energy source. The connection to the data network is possible via fiber optic as well as radio link, the telco said.

The European carrier explained that this solution is not only ideal for quick or temporary coverage for business customers but also in disaster areas due to its high level of flexibility.

Deutsche Telekom will launch a commercial offer for the use of ultra-mobile transmission masts in spring 2024.

Deutsche Telekom recently said it expected to launch its 5G Standalone (5G SA) offering in Germany this year. Srini Gopalan, CEO of Telekom Deutschland, which is DT’s domestic operator, said the carrier is aiming at offering 5G SA to private customers.

The executive noted that Deutsche Telekom’s business customers are already using the technology with functions such as network slicing for live TV transmission of media or in 5G campus networks for industry and research.

The carrier also highlighted that its 5G network currently covers 96% of the German population. Deutsche Telekom’s 5G network has 80,000 5G antennas, including over 10,000 antennas transmitting on the 3.6 GHz band in more than 800 cities and municipalities across the country.

Gopolan said that DT’s 5G technology is currently offering download speeds of up to 1 Gbps and that the telco expects to reach 99% of the population in Germany with 5G by 2025.