Telecoms company 1&1 AG said on Tuesday that it has met a government requirement in the roll-out of Germany’s fourth mobile network.
The requirement — migrating around 12.5 million mobile customers to its so-called core network — has now been completed, 1&1 said.
The company, long a virtual mobile network operator (MVNO) that provided services to customers by leasing capacity from the established mobile network operators (MNOs), is building out its own infrastructure.
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In Germany, the MNOs are Telekom, O2 and Vodafone.
In 2019, the German firm spent just over €1 billion ($1.15 billion) to acquire its own spectrum, laying the foundation for its own independent MNO network.
Progress has been slow, however. At the start of 2023, 1&1 operated only five radio sites, far short of the 1,000 required under government targets. By the middle of this year, that number had risen to 1,200, and the company now runs a low four-digit number of sites. By comparison, O2 operates around 28,000 locations in Germany.
The firm faced a government deadline to end its status as an MVNO and become a MNO by December 2025, a move intended to ensure full competitive independence.
While customers are now technically on 1&1’s own network, the coverage remains limited. To avoid service gaps, users continue to connect via Vodafone antennas in areas without 1&1 infrastructure, under a national roaming agreement between the two companies.
