MONTABAUR (dpa-AFX) - At the start of the fourth German mobile network, the newcomer 1&1 has missed a government expansion obligation very clearly. Instead of having activated 1000 5G stations by the end of 2022, the United Internet subsidiary from Montabaur reported on Tuesday only 3 radio systems in use in Frankfurt am Main and in Karlsruhe. 50 are already ready, these will be gradually put into operation in other cities. 235 are under construction. The 1000 target would be reached "in the course of the year". 1&1 had already admitted in September that it would not reach the interim target on time, citing supply bottlenecks at an expansion partner. Now the extent of the shortfall has become clear.

The network that went live at the three sites is only being used for a niche application, as a fixed-network replacement product. Reception for cell phone use on the move is not possible - only households near the antennas can receive the radio signals to get Internet in their homes: It is intended as an alternative to the fixed network.

Ultimately, this product is just a first step toward Germany's fourth mobile network. Only in the fall will the antennas also be activated for cell phone users who are on the move - then it will become a mobile network in the true sense, i.e., an application available on the move.

1&1 first auctioned off a frequency spectrum in 2019 for around EUR 1.1 billion to build its own mobile network. So far, the company has primarily used the network of O2 (Telefónica) and paid rent for it. In the future, however, 1&1 wants to stand on its own two feet.

By the end of 2025, 1&1 must reach at least 25 percent of German households with its mobile network, and by the end of 2030 it must reach 50 percent, according to requirements imposed by the Federal Network Agency from the 2019 auction. The company wants to meet the latter requirement "early on," said company CEO Ralph Dommermuth. "To achieve this, around 12,600 radio masts and more than 500 regional data centers will be put into operation."

1&1 radio masts will reportedly be equipped with gigabit antennas and connected to so-called edge data centers with fiber optics, using OpenRAN technology. The distances between antennas and the data centers are small and the data runtime is short, thus ensuring "real-time capability throughout the network," 1&1 said, adding that unlike its competitors, it does not use antennas from Chinese manufacturer Huawei.

So far, there are three mobile networks in Germany: from Deutsche Telekom, from Vodafone and from Telefónica with its O2 brand. 1&1 will remain closely linked to Telefónica in the future: Where the new network operator has no antennas, its customers will be connected to the O2 network - for which the companies concluded a roaming agreement.

And how is the Federal Network Agency dealing with the realization that the new entrant has breached its obligation to put 1,000 5G stations into operation by the turn of the year? A spokesman for the regulator said companies have until Friday to provide feedback on the rollout status. "If, after the deadline, the Federal Network Agency finds that the requirements have not been met or have not been met in full, it will consider whether to impose legal consequences such as fines and/or penalty payments, taking into account the reasons for delay presented." He added that 1&1's network launch showed "that the basic requirements for expansion now exist."/wdw/DP/ngu