The German government will reportedly invest €1.1 billion to close mobile coverage gaps in the country by 2024, with plans to build 5,000 masts through a public infrastructure company.

Speaking to German newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung, parliamentary state secretary at the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure Steffen Bilger said the investment will be provided through the country’s digital infrastructure fund “to close almost all deadlocks in Germany”.

The newspaper stated the government has also set aside €5 million to launch a public infrastructure company in Q3 2020, which will deploy masts in areas where private companies do not operate at the moment.

Germany’s Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer has also reportedly pushed for faster approval procedures for the expansion of mobile infrastructure in the country, as approval procedures in 1,000 locations across the country are currently pending.

The announcement comes a week after the three biggest operators in the country agreed to coordinate construction of 6,000 radio sites across Germany.