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In Überlingen on Lake Constance, Telekom is desperately looking for a location for a modern 5G mobile phone base station. But this place is great with reservations. The case is an example of the slow expansion of the German grid.
“Our antennas are looking for a home”: Deutsche Telekom is looking for potential locations for its mobile phone antennas on a large billboard in Uberlingen, the second largest city on Lake Baden-Württemberg in Konstan Twisted area.
Why: Telekom wanted to expand the network for the new fast 5G mobile communications standard – but lacked the space for a radio mast. Telekom spokesman Markus Jodl said this was an ongoing problem for the company across Germany.
When fully loaded, the network reaches its limit
In principle, Überlingen’s 5G network is not bad at all, says Jodl. Only some sub places are not fully covered yet. The bigger issue, however, is network capacity. “Use of the mobile phone network is increasing by about 30% per year.”
Streaming media, messenger services, video calling—these are all data-intensive applications. Even when network coverage appears to be good at first glance, capacity is often insufficient. “You don’t even need top speed, but you have to be able to have as many people as possible using the network at the same time,” Jodl said.
In other words, more antennas are required. But in Überlingen, the company has not yet received any suitable rental locations from the city or from private individuals.
reservations cellular antenna still big
Deutsche Telekom has been commissioned by the Federal Network Agency to secure the supply. You’ll have to find out where to set up the mast yourself – and take on that task for other cell phone operators.
But in many places, it failed due to resistance. “Typically, we still get a lot of reservations in the community,” Jodl said. The expansion of mobile phone networks in the 2000s was more critical.
“We’re talking about health issues more often, or whether we need mobile communication.” In Jodl’s view, the situation has improved, but many people are still skeptical — not only in the countryside, but also in the cities.
location offer city not suitable for telecommunications
Take Überlingen, for example: Telekom tried to get in touch with the city as early as possible – this is a normal process, a company spokesman said. Telekom finds what it thinks the mobile network needs to improve, the so-called search circle. The first thing to do is to contact the municipality. However, Jodl criticized that in Berlingen they received little support.
City spokesperson Andrea Winkler sees it differently, noting that the proposed city plots are what the city of Überlingen sees fit. “However, these were not always included in the search, or accepted by Telekom in specific cases,” Winkler said.
Telekom said it was a Germany-wide problem. Much of the community lacks the understanding that mobile phone providers need not just any location, but a location that fits the network.
“The location cannot be somewhere in the forest. Rabbits and hedgehogs don’t make phone calls, but people do,” Telekom spokesman Jodl said. That’s why Telekom is now looking for private owners in Überlingen who will lease their space to them – for a period of 15 years.
others too Mobile operators know the problem
Other mobile operators are also aware of problems with radio mast locations. Vodafone reports that it is often difficult to find suitable replacement locations, especially when the old location is no longer available.
O2-owned Telefónica has criticized not only the willingness of municipalities and individuals to rent, but also the often lengthy planning and approval process. “The bureaucratic hurdles of setting up new locations and costly frequency auctions are hindering the expansion of mobile communications,” said board member Valentina Daiber tagesschau.de.
In their view, one solution might be the so-called “approval novel”: if a process has not been processed at the end of a certain period, it is considered an approval.
Federal Network Agency keep a low profile
The Federal Network Agency stayed out of the matter.when asked tagesschau.de. Only they can answer questions about it.
According to the Federal Network Agency, at least one network operator’s 5G coverage has increased to around 79% of the federal territory in recent months.
In Deutsche Telekom’s view, if Germany didn’t have so many reservations about antennas, there could be more. After all: Private property owners made several offers for the poster campaign in Überlingen. Two of them are now undergoing more in-depth inspections.