Vodafone Germany, known officially as Vodafone GmbH, is a mobile telecommunications operator based in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company, which provides services such as mobile phone, LTE, 5G, cable internet, landlines, cable TV, and IPTV, was established as a result of Vodafone's acquisition of the German engineering group Mannesmann GmbH in 2000. Mannesmann, awarded the second digital GSM-900 network in Germany in 1989, was the first private company to break the monopoly of telecommunications services operated by Deutsche Bundespost, now Deutsche Telekom. The company commenced operations of its mobile network on 30th June 1992 and was rebranded to Vodafone D2 in 2002. Vodafone Germany began offering IPTV via DSL and VDSL connections in February 2011, and by 2014, the company had acquired around 75% of Kabel Deutschland. In 2019, Unitymedia was merged with Vodafone, and the Unitymedia brand was subsequently phased out by Vodafone Germany in February 2020.
Alias
Vodafone D2 GmbH
Country
Germany
Type
Mobile Network Operator
Ownership
Vodafone Group
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3G Network

The company launched its 3G network in March 2006 over the B1 (2100 MHz) band. The network was upgraded to DC-HSPA+ in 2014. Vodafone's 3G network was shut down by June 2021.

Network Frequency Band Status
B1 (2100 MHz)
Shut Down
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 3G Network
Launch
Shutdown of 3G Network
Shut Down

4G Network

Vodafone launched its 4G network across Germany in December 2010 using the B20 (800 MHz) band. By August 2013 Vodafone announced it had enhanced the network with the addition of B7 (2600 MHz). 2C Carrier Aggregation was enabled in early 2015, bringing peak data rates to 225 Mbps. Vodafone commercially launched VoLTE voice services on March 16, 2015.

3C CA LTE-Advanced services enabling 375 Mbps (B3+B7+B20) was activated in July 2016. Further bands were added in the following years.

4G Frequency Bands
Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status Known EARFCNs
B1 (2100 MHz)
20
Active
100
B3 (1800 MHz)
20
Active
1801
B7 (2600 MHz)
20
Active
2850
B8 (900 MHz)
5
Active
3600
B20 (800 MHz)
10
Active
6300
B28 (700 MHz)
10
Active
9460
B32 (1500 MHz SDL)
20
Active
B38 (2600 MHz)
20
Active
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 4G Network
Launch

5G Network

Vodafone has implemented a progressive deployment strategy in which it expects to commercially release its 5G network in 2020. March 2018 saw the company begin deployment of its NB-IoT network, an essential component of 5G Massive Machine-Type Communication (mMTC), and within six months the company had achieved deployment in 90% of its network. In May 2018 the company implemented "5G Beam" technology across its existing network, which uses 128T128R beamforming to deliver faster data rates and improve capacity. By October 2018 Vodafone Germany had erected its first dedicated 5G base station, and demonstrated mobile holographic calling.

In June 2019 Vodafone Germany acquired a total of 130 MHz for the purposes of implementing 5G services, with 90 MHz acquired in the 3.5 GHz band and 40 MHz in the 2.1 GHz band. The acquisition requires relinquishing an existing 42 MHz allotment in the 3.5 GHz band to be replaced with a contiguous 90 MHz block.

Vodafone Germany officially launched its 5G network in July 2019 over the n78 (3500 MHz) band. 5G services were initially launched in Birgland (Bavaria), Lohmar (North Rhine-Westphalia) and Hattstedt (Nordfriesland), along with the cities of Cologne, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Dortmund, and Munich.

DSS bands were added in July 2020 using n3 and n28 bands. The network was upgraded to Standalone (SA) in April 2021.

Network Frequency Band Max. Channel Bandwidth Status Known EARFCNs
n3 (1800 MHz)
20
Active
372750
n28 (700 MHz)
10
Active
n78 (3500 MHz)
90
Active
628800
Date Event Subtype
Launch of 5G Network
Launch