German Mobile Companies Sign Up to Provide 5G Along the Tracks

The four mobile network operators in Germany have agreed a deal with Deutsche Bahn and the government to install a 5G network along 278km of rail tracks between Hamburg and Berlin. Under the terms of the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding, O2 Germany, Telekom Deutschland, Vodafone and 1&1, will develop, test and install, 5G-enabled masts along the heavily-used route. According to DB, some 230 trains carrying 30,000 passengers travel on the line daily.
DB has scheduled an upgrade of the entire Hamburg-Berlin rail corridor between August of next year and April 2026. It is reported that the 5G installation will take place at the same time.
The project will also further expand FRMCS implementation in Germany. O2 has previously indicated it will use 3.6GHz frequencies to establish 5G connectivity on railway lines, which cover approximately one kilometre of track per tower. If this is the case for the entire route, then approximately 278 towers will need to be constructed.
In total, it is believed that around 20,000 new masts will be needed to fully cover the entire German rail system for FRMCS.
The trial system will see all of Germany’s mobile operators work together for the first time on trackside connectivity – each has said that the project will help them evaluate the “technical and economic challenges of supplying rail passengers” with improved connectivity. However, each of them has also worked separately with the national rail operator on providing 5G along rail tracks. Telekom Deutschland recently began upgrading 1,900 sites and constructing 470 new masts across Germany’s railway lines. For its part, Vodafone is in the midst of building a 5G stand-alone network along Germany’s Intercity-Express lines – due to be finished by the end of 2025.
Deutsche Bahn will be speaking about this project and others at next week’s annual Traincomms Conference in London (www.Traincomms.com ).
Traincomms 2024 is being sponsored by Huber+Suhner, Westermo, CGI, Boldyn Networks, Galgus and Icomera. Oxyfi, Antonics and Polomarconi will be exhibitors.
The latest programme is available here http://traincomms.com/#content2b
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