Nationwide expansion: O2 integrates 5G technology into streetlights
O2 TelefĂłnica wants to turn simple street lamps into 5G mobile phone masts in the 25 largest German cities.
5G lights are to provide a better network in urban centers.
(Image: 5G Synergiewerk|Udo Ernhuber)
Network operator O2 TelefĂłnica and infrastructure provider 5G Synergiewerk want to break new ground in the expansion of the 5G network. In addition to large radio masts, conventional street lamps across Germany are to be upgraded to 5G mobile communications sites to improve network capacity.
According to the network operator, this approach is intended to improve the capacity of the mobile network for smartphone users and businesses in busy city centers as well as in tourist regions. In the first expansion phase this year, the companies are concentrating on the 25 largest cities. The long-term plans are to go "far beyond that".
"Smart Poles": 50 5G lanterns by the end of 2025
The first so-called "Smart Poles" have already been put into operation as a pilot project in Frankfurt am Main, Cologne and WĂĽrzburg. By the end of the year, 50 more of these 5G street lamps will be in operation. 5G Synergiewerk is negotiating contracts with the city councils for this.
The plan is to put further 5G lights into operation in Frankfurt am Main. These will improve the O2 network at Kornmarkt, Nibelungenplatz and Mainzer LandstraĂźe as early as May. Further lights are to be installed in Cologne (at Heumarkt), Hanover (at Maschsee) and Stuttgart (at Bopser).
According to O2 TelefĂłnica, major events also play a role in the planning of the nationwide expansion. This is why 5G street lights are to be put into operation around the Theresienwiese in Munich, for example. In addition, 5G lanterns on the Rhine bridges in DĂĽsseldorf are to provide a better mobile network during the Rhine funfair, among other things. In Hamburg, the plan is to offer higher network capacities with the 5G street lights around Heiligengeistfeld. The network operator is also planning to equip tourist strongholds on the North Sea and Baltic Sea as well as on Lake Constance with 5G lights.
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5G streetlights require fiber optics
To install a 5G street light, O2 partner 5G Synergiewerk is replacing the existing lanterns with a "smart pole". These poles house the existing lighting or new LED lights as well as the network technology. The radio technology is connected to a fiber optic cable, which sometimes still has to be laid.
The idea is not completely new: in addition to test runs by O2 TelefĂłnica, Vodafone has also been testing such 5G lamp posts in Cologne for a while now together with the company Smart Cells. Vodafone and Deutsche Telekom are also using advertising pillars as antenna sites. In Berlin alone, Deutsche Telekom has already equipped 200 advertising pillars with mobile communications technology by 2021.
(afl)
