Deutsche Telekom struck an agreement with Telefonica Deutschland to share infrastructure, with the aim of closing 4G coverage gaps and improve connectivity at several hundred sites across Germany.

In a statement, the operators said the partnership would aim to address so-called 4G grey spots, defined as areas in which not all operators can offer their customers mobile network access via the technology.

The operators explained these areas often pose financial challenges around setting up and operating separate infrastructure using their own network technology.

To address this, the duo will share active network technology at the sites, which differs from previous joint projects such as site sharing.

The operators also signed a letter of intent agreeing no second separate wireless technology or additional antennas would be installed.

They stated the move will address “several hundred selected antenna sites” to fill grey spots and, as a result of the effort, they hope to offer all customers 4G access in the 800MHz frequency band at each site.

Telefonica Deutschland CEO Markus Haas said Germany “needed to step up digitalisation”, as consumers and businesses demand rapid progress in mobile network coverage.

“This requires a concerted effort on the part of all involved. Co-usage of sites is an important step in this direction and a positive signal to Germany’s mobile communications customers.”

Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica Deutschland and Vodafone Germany joined forces in 2019 to jointly coordinate construction of 6,000 sites, in a bid to slash costs as part of an effort to meeting rural coverage targets in the country.