1&1, the German operator that launched its 5G Open Network in December 2023, said that around 700,000 customers were using the 1&1 O-RAN at the end of March 2024.
A report from the company said this meant that the migration of its MVNO “external network” existing customers to the new network has started successfully.
“The smooth functioning of the new Open-RAN technology is evidenced by initial network tests conducted by connect, teltarif and Inside Digital, which have given positive ratings to the 1&1 O-RAN,” the company’s Q1 report claimed.
The company added that it is making increasing progress with its passive infrastructure, particularly antenna sites.
“By the end of the first quarter, we had taken over approximately 1,334 radio masts, which we are gradually equipping with gigabit antennas and connecting to fibre optic networks,” it said.
Start-up costs for the construction of the 1&1 mobile network increased “as planned” to EUR 42.4 million in the quarter. In the first three months of the 2024 financial year, 1&1 attributed revenues of €0.9 million due to connections to the network.
1&1 is a high profile customer for Rakuten Symphony, which is acting as supplier and system integrator to the operator, which is building out a distributed cloud RAN network across the country.
