Deutsche Telekom hailed progress in rollout of 5G in its domestic market, as it revealed the service was now available in five major cities, with another two due to come online by the year-end.

The operator stated a network of 66 5G antennas in Berlin offer the “largest continuous 5G coverage” in the country, spanning six square kilometres. Sites in Bonn, Cologne, Darmstadt and Munich are also up and running, with a total of 129 antennas operational.

Deutsche Telekom explained it is gradually expanding its network clusters for the technology in those cities “so that larger areas can be served” rather than “just isolated spots around individual antennae”. Sites in Hamburg and Leipzig are due to be turned on by the end of the year, when the operator aims to have 300 compatible antennas in operation.

Telekom Deutschland CTO Walter Goldenits explained continuous coverage is a key step in building consumer appetite for 5G: “After all, it’s not just about having 5G show up on the screen, it’s about experiencing the real strengths of 5G from the very start”.

He added the operator is gleaning valuable experience from its initial deployments, which is steering specific strategies in each city. For example, its focus in Berlin over the next 18 months is on the city centre (a tourist hotspot), while in Munich it is targeting the business community.

Deutsche Telekom outlined its 5G deployment strategy in early July, around a fortnight before rival Vodafone Germany began deploying the technology in Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Dortmund and Munich.

In the near term, both operators plan to cover 20 towns and cities with the technology.

The duo had heavily criticised the high cost of spectrum in Germany’s 5G auction, which completed in early June and netted the government a total of €6.6 billion.