Deutsche Telekom deploys first LTE

MUNICH, GERMANY: Deutsche Telekom AG will launch Long Term Evolution (LTE) later this year in Germany, extending advanced mobile broadband services to underserved rural areas. Network roll out began following the "digital dividend" spectrum auction which ended May 20, 2010.

According to a Nokia Siemens Networks press release, Deutsche Telekom selected Nokia Siemens Networks as one of its suppliers for hardware, software and services required to set up and maintain the LTE radio network across Germany. In addition, the operator has selected Nokia Siemens Networks as a future LTE supplier globally.

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"Deutsche Telekom has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting next-generation technologies so that our subscribers can enjoy sophisticated services, " said Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, director technology Telekom Deutschland GmbH. "In a first step LTE will enable broadband access in rural areas, where fast access to the Internet has so far been unavailable. Nokia Siemens Networks has already demonstrated its technological leadership in LTE. In addition its expertise in services has convinced us: It can ensure the rapid, high quality network roll-out we want and have planned."

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For its LTE services, Deutsche Telekom will use the 800 MHz ‘digital dividend’ frequency band, radio spectrum formerly used by analog TV. Thanks to its reach, this spectrum is best suited to cover rural areas with mobile broadband Internet.

"As a preferred LTE supplier we can best support Deutsche Telekom with its new LTE 800 network in Germany," said Thomas Jul, head of the global Deutsche Telekom customer team at Nokia Siemens Networks. "LTE is a super-fast mobile broadband technology that makes instant browsing and downloads possible. We have already shipped our LTE-capable Flexi Multiradio Base Station to many customers, including almost all of our 3G customers globally. We are providing a smooth and cost-efficient transition path to LTE via a software upgrade only. LTE helps operators like Deutsche Telekom address the challenge of growing data traffic and always-on connectivity, as well as delivering a superior broadband service."

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The major part of the contract in Germany is dedicated to services. Nokia Siemens Networks is planning and optimizing the LTE network to deliver the quality and coverage that Deutsche Telekom requires to expand into rural areas. It is also handling the implementation and maintenance elements of the project to ensure a rapid roll-out without interruption to existing 2G and 3G services. In its first phase, the roll-out began in rural areas, so called ‘whitespots’ where no broadband access of any kind is available. Nokia Siemens Networks is supplying its Single RAN** solution with Self Organizing Network (SON) functionality based on its award-winning, energy-efficient Flexi Multiradio Base Station and network management & optimization software NetAct. In addition Nokia Siemens Networks will extend the existing subscriber data management platform for Deutsche Telekom to the LTE deployment, providing a single, unified view of all subscriber-related data.

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