- DT plans to launch a 5G+ Gaming option based on 5G SA and network slicing
- The operator has partnered with ALSO and Ludium Lab for the service
- The move represents a new foray into cloud gaming
Deutsche Telekom (DT) said it remains on track to launch its 5G standalone (5G SA) offering in Germany this year, becoming the last of the three incumbent mobile network operators to offer services that rely on a 5G core network.
The German operator said late last year that it aims to offer 5G SA to private customers in 2024, and it now has only four months left to achieve this ambition.
However, DT announced at Gamescom 2024 last week that it will launch a new 5G+ Gaming option in the autumn, noting that this service is based on 5G SA and network slicing. This suggests that the operator is opting to market 5G SA-based use cases to its subscribers, as opposed to rolling out more network technology options to a puzzled client base.
5G+ Gaming is a mobile cloud gaming option that customers will be able to add to their MagentaMobil packages later this year. Here, DT has joined forces with European technology provider ALSO and its partner Ludium Lab to put together a package for cloud gamers, including 100 games free of charge for a six-month period.
Ludium is providing its Sorastream cloud-based gaming subscription platform that is designed for companies that want to offer cloud gaming services to their customers.
Change in approach
DT indicated earlier this year that it has switched to a partner-led, content aggregator approach for cloud gaming following the failure of its MagentaGaming offering that was originally launched in 2020.
Mike Echternach, senior commercial product manager for TV at DT, said the operator was “trying out things” on a smaller scale in order to see what might appeal to different customer groups from gamers through to eSports enthusiasts, and how they can be best served by the network.
He also noted that 5G SA provides an opportunity to serve gamers with network slices that offer characteristics such as very low latency, for example.
The biggest challenge, he said, is how to monetize this. “Does the customer want to pay for it? I’m not sure,” he said.
With the 5G+ Gaming option, DT will be in a position to find out. Customers with a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra will be the first to benefit, and DT said Samsung Electronics has already technically equipped this smartphone model so that it can implement all 5G+ Gaming functions.
“The next step will be to add further devices on which the new option will work. 5G+ Gaming is the world’s first consumer offer based on network slicing that Samsung Electronics is implementing with a telecommunications provider,” DT claimed.
Long time coming
DT’s business customers in Germany are already using 5G SA and network slicing, such as for live TV transmission or in 5G campus networks for industry and research.
The operator had previously been expected to launch commercial 5G SA services in 2022 and then in 2023, but it always said it was in no rush to deploy the technology before it was really needed, or before there were enough devices available.
Now, DT indicates that 12,500 antennas are compatible with 5G SA in the 3.6 GHz band, covering more than 940 cities and municipalities. Overall, its current 5G network covers 97% of the population with more than 80,000 antennas. The goal is to cover 99% of the population with 5G by 2025.
Meanwhile, rival operators Telefónica Deutschland (O2 Germany) and Vodafone Germany already offer standalone 5G services.
O2 Germany began marketing 5G SA services under the 5G Plus brand last year and Vodafone Germany launched 5G SA services to the wider market under the 5G+ moniker in March 2022 after switching on the technology in April 2021.