Network provider O2 Telefónica has announced that it expects 5G internet coverage will be available to the entire German population by the end of 2025.
Mobile phone service providers will be able to provide 5G coverage across the whole of Germany by 2025, O2 has said.
“By the end of 2025, the entire population will be reachable with 5G,” Chief Technology and Information Officer at O2 Mallik Rao said. At the moment, 66,5 percent of Germany is covered by O2's 5G network.
Like other network providers, O2 cannot promise 100 percent internet coverage thanks to the remaining network dead zones dotted across the country. Vodafone is promising 5G coverage to 95 percent of households across the country by March 2025 and Telekom is pushing for 99 percent of households by the end of the same year.
O2 aims to reach the entire German population by the end of 2025, but a report published in April 2024 by the Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) found that Deutsche Telekom is still far ahead of its competitors in offering 5G coverage. The Bonn-based company currently has a 5G area coverage of 81,1 percent in Germany.
By the time nearly the entire population can benefit from 5G coverage, the world’s next wireless standard will be well on its way, with 6G expected in 2029 or 2030.
However, once 6G becomes available, it is expected to exist in tandem with 5G for a long time, since 6G’s capabilities exceed the kind of service that most people require in everyday life.
Supporting high data requirements, and reducing transmission and latency times, the capabilities of 6G are first expected to benefit healthcare, for example in operations controlled remotely.
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