See summer of 2023 for real world 5G speeds
German operator 1&1 says it has run a fully virtual and Open radio access network (RAN) for 5G in test conditions which dispersed data at over a gigabit per second. The successful tests are an encouraging sign for the operator which claims to be transitioning into a fully fledged mobile operator with none of the ‘baggage’ of its bigger rivals.
The company LinkedIn post said the test ran ‘under real life conditions with real customer behaviour, delivering impressive results’. “We have achieved speeds of over 1 Gbps and stable data transfers [of] 8 terabytes per customer within 24 hours!” it said, adding that it was particularly pleased with latency times of 3ms.
These speeds may not be easily replicated in a real-world setting, noted Harry Baldock in Total Telecoms. In test conditions Telefónica Deutschland achieved data speeds of 1.7 Gbps but delivered data to customers at just 131.4 Mbps, on average, and that was recorded as the fastest 5G service in Germany.
However as 1&1 pointed out in its statement, it is building a flexible network that won’t get bogged down by legacies of hardware or hostilities. “We are building fully virtualised Open RAN network without dependencies on dominant manufacturers from China, with over 500 edge data centres, gigabit antennas and fibre optic infrastructure.”
1&1 also operates a fixed broadband network, 1&1 Versatel and has operated as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) using both Telefonica Germany and Vodafone Germany’s networks for many years. In 2019 it declared its aim to become a mobile network operator (MNO) in its own right. It successfully bid for spectrum in the Germany’s 5G auction, paying the regulator €1.07 billion for the 2×10 MHz in the 2.1 GHz band and 50 MHz in the 3.6 GHz band.
Networking software vendor Mavenir described recently how it helped convert the MVNO into a bone fide MNO by giving it a new RAN, Core, and systems for IT, business support (BSS) and charging. The Mavenir Digital Enablement (MDE) created the cloud software conditions in which a converged charging system (CCS) and a charging gateway function (CGF) could be installed to support charging on a blend of 4G and 5G network technology.
Now 1&1 has declared it is a year away from becoming Germany’s fourth mobile operator and promised to launch commercial services in summer 2023. Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1 parent company United Internet, told German newspaper Die Welt that the telco’s mobile network will initially provide 5G fixed wireless access services (FWA) and that 5G mobile services will be available for smartphone users around mid-2023.