Full house in Berlin today: On Network Day, some 80 journalists and bloggers found out about Deutsche Telekom's network technology. Board of Management members Tim Höttges, Dirk Wössner, and Claudia Nemat got into the details.
Hustle and bustle on Berlin's Winterfeldtstrasse. Many journalists and bloggers, including international media, accepted the invitation to attend Deutsche Telekom's Network Day. They wanted to see and hear about progress in the broadband expansion, how Deutsche Telekom wants to eliminate mobile white spots, and the company's plans for 5G.
"The digitalization of Germany is a challenge for society as a whole," said Deutsche Telekom's CEO Tim Höttges in Berlin. "Our strength is our networks. And we take our responsibility for them seriously. That's why we're focusing on investment, innovation, and partnerships." Deutsche Telekom has a clear societal responsibility for Germany's material wealth, he said. "Our networks: fast, reliable, and secure."
Deutsche Telekom has submitted an eight-point plan for a fast, successful launch of 5G. "We plan to cover 99 percent of the population with 5G by 2025," declared Höttges. Deutsche Telekom also plans to get all the relevant players for 5G on the same page. "We will launch a user conference for 5G, to precisely understand the requirements we need to serve. We're 5G-ready."
Deutsche Telekom's plans for the 5G expansion include cities, towns, autobahns, main roads, and train paths. Business parks and schools are also included. "More than 30 percent of Germany's land is forested. When it makes sense to cover these areas with 5G applications, we'll do so," said Dirk Wössner, Managing Director of Telekom Deutschland. In rural areas, the company plans to offer rental space in all its transmission towers to interested third parties. In general, said Wössner, "we're open to partnerships for network expansion."
Claudia Nemat, Board member for Technology and Innovation, also talked about 5G: "Industry and future cities need 5G as a technical foundation." Nemat announced a network partnership with Osram. Deutsche Telekom has begun testing a first campus network together with its customer Osram at their factory campus in Schwabmünchen, Bavaria, on the basis of LTE. The company intends to deploy mobile robots as driverless transport vehicles to transport materials within the factory. The campus network will guarantee flexible, modern, real-time production.
Deutsche Telekom began maintaining a network of around 50 young journalists, bloggers, and YouTubers in 2012. These "talents" paid special attention on Network Day and asked the right questions. A somewhat unconventional photo made for a nice souvenir of the day's events in Berlin.
Denise Ludwig (left) is one of these talents. She is a social media advisor to companies and was delighted. "It's great that Deutsche Telekom is demonstrating all these things here. The 5G use cases are really exciting. Smart city, traffic, smart machines – I didn't know that Deutsche Telekom is an enabler and co-developer of all that."
It was also an unconventional day at work for the colleagues in Telekom Technik. They showed everything involved in installing optical fiber: a trenching machine, splicing table, and a multifunction cabinet.
Panel discussion on "Intelligent Networks for Innovations". Claudia Nemat (second from left) debated with Josef Brunner from Relayr (right) and Omar Tellez from Niantic, the developer of Pokémon Go. Among the topics they covered was how Deutsche Telekom's networks can promote innovation. "The combination of reliability and security is the foundation." Exciting insights from the outdoors.
Deutsche Telekom is using artificial intelligence in its network expansion. Network planners will traverse terrain with cameras and laser scanners in future. The data will be a significant help. The recordings will then be superimposed with cadastral information and Deutsche Telekom's construction plans, to make network planning faster and more efficient.
