“True technical innovation is made up of implementation strength and pioneering spirit. Telekom has clearly demonstrated both with 5G. More than two-thirds of people in Germany can already use Telekom’s 5G network today,” said Walter Goldenits, CTO of Telekom Deutschland. “And the next step has also been taken. With our first data connection via 5G Standalone, we are making history again. As the first network operator in Germany.”

With DT’s 5G Standalone, the infrastructure in the core network will also be fully upgraded to a new, cloud-based 5G architecture. This further development of 5G is the prerequisite for new application possibilities.

“Our goal is to continue to actively shape the future of mobile communications. 5G standalone is important to be able to use technologies such as network slicing or edge computing,” says Claudia Nemat, Board Member Technology and Innovation at Telekom. “We are very proud to have taken the next innovation step in 5G. With this test, we are once again demonstrating our innovation leadership.”

DT first announced tests of its 5G standalone network in February. At the time, Walter Goldenits said the Garching test represented the first step towards the 5G standalone live network, although he also noted that a rollout “will then also depend on the requirements of our customers. Technology and the market will play a joint role in further development.”

Goldenits said more than two thirds of people in Germany are now covered by the operator’s non-standalone 5G network (5G NSA), which is anchored to the existing 4G-LTE infrastructure.

 

5G NSA (EPC) vs 5G SA (5G Core):

Image Courtesy of GSMA

Important Question:

We wonder how DT is collaborating with T-Mobile US which has already deployed a 5G SA/5G Core network?  DT owns 43% of T–Mobile, but the shareholder pact with Softbank assures it of strategic control and allows it to consolidate results of its largest subsidiary at group level.  Cooperation is essential to ensure interoperability and 5G SA roaming, because there is no implementation standard or open specification for 5G SA/5G Core network (as we have written so many times).

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Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone also recently pledged their support for Open RAN technology in the hope a joint commitment will attract investment, speed up the development of products that can be used in mainstream networks and produce new European wireless network equipment suppliers.

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