Telefonica Deutschland secured a €450 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help fund construction of its 5G network and enhance its existing LTE infrastructure.

The finance has a term of eight years and comes with “high sustainability requirements for borrowers” set by EIB, the operator said in a statement.

Telefonica said it will significantly expand its network capacity in cities in an effort to maintain a leading market position and will focus on closing the “white spots in the country” in order to “win new customers there”.

CFO Markus Rolle explained the loan enabled the company to quickly build an energy-efficient 5G network and serve growing customer demand for mobile data.

In December 2019 the operator outlined plans to increase investments in its network over the next two years, and picked Huawei and Nokia as 5G RAN suppliers.

The company also stated it targets at least a 5 per cent rise in sales and increased profitability which will, in turn, be pumped into network expansion.