Two years after launching mobile services on its Open RAN network, German operator 1&1 said that it has completed the migration of all of its MVNO customers onto direct network service, meaning the operator now has over 12 million customers on the network, compared to just 700,000 in May 2024.
That number means that 1&1 now has the largest number of customers amongst the small number of operators globally that run solely on Open RAN networks. Rakuten Mobile, which launched in 2020 and which owns 1&1’s prime integrator and supplier Rakuten Symphony, had just over 9 million customers at the end of July 2025. Dish, now Boost Mobile, may have built a bigger network in geographical terms but it never formally disclosed customer numbers on-net vs MVNO customers and the company is now set to decommission its wireless network, following spectrum sales to Space X and a move to operate as a “hybrid operator” – meaning it will keep its own core network but offer access as an MVNO using AT&T’s network.
Under its license agreement, 1&1 needed to achieve competitive independence as Germany’s fourth network operator by December 31, 2025 meaning it had to stop acting as an MVNO by that point. Prior to launching services on its own network in December 2023, it had offered mobile services as an MVNO, building up a customer base of over 12 million. As it launched its own network it has been migrating all those customers – up to 50,000 in a day at one point.
While a huge percentage of 1&1’s customers have come over from its MVNO business, organic growth seems to be slower – in the first nine months of 2025, 1&1 grew its mobile customer base by 40,000.
And EBITDA loss in the 1&1 mobile network segment will also remain roughly unchanged in 2025, at around -EUR265 million (2024: -EUR 265.3 million). However, the company said this includes approximately EUR100 million in expenses for those customer migration and network services, which will now cease with the completion of that migration.
The 1&1 O-RAN network is a cloud-native mobile network built on Open RAN technology integrated by Rakuten Symphony, with 1&1 saying it currently collaborates with around 100 partner companies. As other German operators grapple with the implications of retaining a large legacy of Huawei network equipment, 1&1 said its “modern network architecture embodies innovation, security, sustainability, and – above all – digital sovereignty through independence from individual network suppliers such as Huawei”.
“Based on the innovative Open RAN technology, the 1&1 O-RAN also demonstrates how high-performance and digitally sovereign infrastructure for millions of users can be built in Germany within a short time,” said Ralph Dommermuth, CEO of 1&1.
The operator retains a long term national roaming agreement with Vodafone Germany, providing its customers access in locations where 1&1 has not yet rolled out service.
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