Vodafone and Ericsson to deploy new antennas in Germany

Vodafone Germany in an announcement this week revealed that it has partnered with vendor Ericsson to deploy compact 5G antennas and the first compact 5G antenna was deployed on a parking garage in Düsseldorf.

"Strong winds put pressure on the antenna surfaces mounted on roofs. The more mobile phone antennas there are up there, the higher the wind load," said Marc Hoelzer, head of network development at Vodafone. "This also increases the requirements for wind resistance and statics, so that not every existing roof location can be upgraded with active 5G antennas. The search for new mobile phone locations on roofs is a major challenge for network expansion in Germany."

"The use of a compact active-passive antenna will improve the mobile broadband experience in cities in the future. Ericsson's 'Interleaved AIR 3218' will massively simplify site upgrades and accelerate 5G deployment in areas that were previously restricted by building regulations, planning law or for static reasons," added Daniel Leimbach, head of the Western Europe customer unit and managing director of Ericsson.