Nearly All Highways Are Alleged to Be Equipped with LTE/4G Connectivity
Germany's Major Telecom Providers Near Completion of Mobile Network Coverage on Federal Highways
BERLIN, Germany — With only minor exceptions, Germany's federal highways are nearing complete mobile network coverage, according to a report in the Funke media group newspapers. The report follows a response from the federal government concerning a query by the FDP parliamentary group.
The response revealed that only 82.4 kilometers of federal highways nationwide are yet to receive coverage from the LTE or 4G mobile standards. The largest uncovered areas are in Baden-Württemberg (27.2 kilometers) and Rhineland-Palatinate (22.7 kilometers), with smaller gaps in Hesse (8.1 kilometers), Bavaria (5.7 kilometers), North Rhine-Westphalia (5 kilometers), Thuringia (3.5 kilometers), Brandenburg (2.9 kilometers), the Saarland (2.8 kilometers), Lower Saxony (2.1 kilometers), Saxony (1.8 kilometers), and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (0.6 kilometers). The remaining states—Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, and Saxony-Anhalt—have already achieved full coverage.
In 2015, the telcos Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefónica Deutschland were mandated by the Federal Network Agency to supply all federal highways in Germany with LTE or 4G coverage by the end of 2019. Extensions granted due to non-compliance with the deadline extended the completion date to December 31, 2020. According to the Federal Ministry of Transport's response, the providers currently cover between 91 and 98 percent of the nationwide federal highways, with expectations of further improvement by the end of the extension period.
Despite improvement, it remains uncertain whether complete coverage will be achieved before the end of 2020. Criticism for the slow pace of digitization has arisen, as Torsten Herbst, FDP transport committee spokesman, finds it disappointing that the major mobile network providers have yet to provide fast LTE coverage to all German highways within the extension period. Herbst has urged the Federal Network Agency to examine the possibility of imposing fines, and has criticized the federal government for not simplifying planning and approval procedures to expedite the construction of mobile phone masts.
Infrastructure challenges, regulatory frameworks, technical limitations, and cost considerations can contribute to delays in expanding mobile network coverage. Further updates on current projects and timelines for achieving comprehensive LTE or 4G coverage may be obtained from German telecommunications authorities or the aforementioned telcos.
- The ongoing mobile network coverage expansion, mainly led by telecom providers Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefónica Deutschland, is not only about transport but also the integration of data-and-cloud-computing technology, on German federal highways.
- The use of technology, such as LTE (Long Term Evolution) or 4G (Fourth Generation) mobile standards, is crucial for achieving complete mobile network coverage across Germany, but delays in digitization and infrastructure challenges remain to be addressed by the authorities.
