Germany rolls-out LTE to rural areas - German 800 MHz operators begin deploying first LTE services to areas underserved by broadband

Telefonica Germany's announcement this week that it will launch commercial LTE services from 1 July means that three of the four main German mobile operators have now revealed their LTE deployment plans. Like Vodafone Germany and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile), the Spanish-owned operator - which uses the O2 mobile brand in Germany - will initially deploy LTE at 800 MHz using spectrum acquired at auction last year. This spectrum has been freed up via the move from analogue to digital TV (the so called 'digital dividend') and accounted for the vast majority of the almost EUR5 billion spent by operators in the 2010 auctions. The terms of the 800 MHz licences - ideal for covering wide areas - require operators to initially use the spectrum to deliver mobile broadband to rural areas in Germany that are currently underserved by fixed-line broadband.

Deployment of LTE in 800 MHz marks a departure from the early roll-outs of the technology seen elsewhere in Europe - notably via TeliaSonera in Sweden and Norway - which are typically using 2.6 GHz for LTE in urban areas. European regulators are currently to looking harmonise both bands for mobile broadband deployments. In Germany, only three of the four mobile operators acquired 800 MHz spectrum with KPN's German unit, E-Plus, the one to lose out (though it did acquire 2.6 GHz spectrum).

Most of the German operators conducted LTE trials last year, but Vodafone Germany was the first to launch commercial services in December 2010, switching on service initially in the town of Rammenau, near Dresden. The operator is offering three pricing tiers based on speed of service, starting at EUR39.99 for a 7.2 Mb/s service rising to EUR69.99 for 50 Mb/s; data caps vary depending on the option. According to GSMA Intelligence data, Vodafone had signed up 66,000 subscribers to the service by the end of the first quarter and had a reported 1,500 LTE base stations up-and-running by this point.

German fixed-line incumbent Deutsche Telekom followed in April 2011 with the launch of its 'Call & Surf Comfort via Funk' LTE-based package. The service is bundled with a fixed-line phone connection and costs EUR39.95 per month plus set-up fee. It guarantees speeds of only 3 Mb/s, with HSPA+ used in areas where LTE has not yet been deployed. Telekom is offering one of two routers - Speedport LTE800 and Speedport HSPA (depending on which connection is available) - for a purchase price of EUR129.00 as part of a 24-month contract. Compatible dongles are expected soon. Telekom said the service was available in 1,500 rural markets at launch. According to reports this week, Telekom is also set to deploy LTE at 1.9 GHz in Cologne beginning 1 July. An unlimited mobile broadband service (via a LTE dongle) will be available for EUR74.95 per month, though will be free for the first three months. The service offers peak download speeds of up to 100 Mb/s and is expected to be rolled out to other large German cities soon.

O2 Germany's approach has been slightly different in that it has been testing LTE at both 800 MHz (in the rural Ebersberg and Teutschenthal areas) and 2.6 GHz (in the urban centres of Munich and Halle). However - like rival offerings - next month's launch of 'O2 LTE fur Zuhause' will initially focus on delivering 800 MHz service to rural areas. Its service is the most competitively priced of the three to date, offering a 7.2 Mb/s connection for EUR29.90 per month for the first six months, rising to EUR39.90 per month thereafter. Its LTE compatible router costs EUR49.90 as part of a 24-month contract. It is aiming to roll-out the service to 1,500 locations by year-end.

Having lost out on 800 MHz spectrum, E-Plus has since concentrated on using the additional spectrum acquired last year to beef up its HSPA-based mobile broadband offering, rolling-out HSPA+ in nine German cities beginning November 2010. As a mainly prepaid, low-cost operator, E-Plus is hoping its mobile broadband proposition will provide a lower-cost alternative to the LTE-based offerings from rivals.

Will Croft, Analyst, GSMA Intelligence:

The unique nature of a rural rollout stipulation from the German regulator (BNetzA) has created the most interesting business case for LTE and HSPA+ to date. Vodafone Germany broke new ground with its tiered data rates (per Mb/s), which marks a move beyond tiered data quotas (per MB) - and we expect to see many operators follow suit. Tariff differentiation between HSPA/EV-DO and LTE access has already started this trend and is set to be a key feature of future deployments. This strategy can be approached in many ways; the two principal examples being rural versus urban access; and business versus consumer needs. Data quotas have long been touted as the key to relieving network congestion caused by unsustainable unlimited plans, but data tiers will finally allow operators to see how their customers truly value the access they provide. A good example is businesses that are willing to pay for quality of service, and rate tiers have the potential to be included in formal SLAs with corporate customers. More importantly for rural access is the ability for operators to quickly roll-out cost-effective networks balanced in capex returns by heavier urban usage: capped rate and lower cost networks in rural areas fulfil this need.

Germany mobile connections and LTE deployments, Q1 2011
Source: GSMA Intelligence, company data