Deutsche Telekom to massively increase investment in broadband

Deutsche Telekom plans to invest over €6 billion in rolling out broadband infrastructure in Germany using a mix of fibre-to-the-curb and vectoring technologies.

The operator said it was stepping up investments in both fixed and mobile broadband networks and products over the coming three years in order to improve its competitive position in the long term.

The company will grow its capex to a total of €30 billion covering all network globally. The main focus is on Germany, where activities will centre around building out the LTE network as well as rolling out optical fibre and vectoring technology in the fixed network.

Deutsche Telekom also plans to roll out a hybrid box that combines LTE mobile broadband with vectoring to increase available bandwidth.

Telekom expects its FTTC network to cover 65% of the population of Germany by 2016, with LTE coverage reaching 85%. Deployment of vectoring, subject to regulatory approval, will increase VDSL rates to about 100Mbps, while the hybrid box technology, designed to feed traffic in both directions via vectoring and LTE, will make download speeds of up to 200Mbps and upload speeds of up to 90Mbps possible.

“Hesitation now means playing catch-up later. We are investing in the future – with resolve and a clear strategy,” said René Obermann, chairman of the board of management of Deutsche Telekom at the company’s capital markets day. “The investment plans we have presented today will lay the foundation for future growth. And it is the people in Germany in particular who will benefit more than ever from the modern infrastructure.”