- 1&1 signed a national roaming agreement with Vodafone in 2023, replacing Telefónica
- The roaming partnership is being officially launched this week
- 1&1 continues to build its own 5G network based on open RAN technology
On the road to operating its own 5G network in Germany, 1&1 is switching its roaming partners, from Telefónica Deutschland (O2 Telefónica) to Vodafone. The agreement with Vodafone, which was reached last year and could last up to 18 years, officially kicks off on Thursday
United Internet-owned 1&1, which previously operated as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), is positioned as the fourth mobile operator in Germany, but it needs the roaming deal while it builds its own network.
Progress on that network has been slow. By the end of June 2024, 1&1 had deployed 1,781 antenna sites, of which 546 are equipped with base stations and fiber connectivity and 380 just have antennas.
Ultimately, 1&1’s aim will be to migrate its customer base to its own network, gradually lessening its reliance on national roaming deals. Until that happens, 1&1 customers will be able to access Vodafone’s mobile network alongside 1&1’s own network. Existing 1&1 customers will also gain access to the combined 1&1 5G network and Vodafone national roaming in the near future.
“Thus, 1&1 will gradually transition the mobile plans of its 12 million-plus customers by autumn 2025,” the operator said.
1&1 has not divulged all the reasons behind its switch to Vodafone, no doubt owing to confidential aspects of the agreement. The operator said the two operators “have a history of collaboration,” having previously worked together under an MVNO agreement, although the same is true of Telefónica.
Notably, the Vodafone roaming agreement provides 1&1 with access to 5G, which was not the case initially with Telefónica. However, last November — after 1&1 signed its Vodafone deal — 5G was added to the roaming deal with Telefónica.
1&1 is keen to emphasize it is “confident that our customers will benefit from this partnership” with Vodafone.
“Vodafone has invested in network quality in recent years, delivering very good results, especially in expanding 5G coverage nationwide. At the same time, our primary focus remains on rapidly expanding the 1&1 mobile network, rolling out our innovative Open RAN technology to more and more regions,” 1&1 said.
Moreover, it added, “the partnership between Vodafone and 1&1 is designed for the long term and includes mechanisms to protect both companies against rising costs and increasing data demands.”
Leading the open RAN charge
Germany’s 1&1 is among a trio of operators globally deploying a fully virtualized 5G network based on open radio access network (RAN) technology, with Dish Network in the US and Rakuten Mobile in Japan the other two providers.
As a greenfield operator, unburdened by legacy network and IT issues, it is certainly well-placed to adopt a new approach to building a mobile network.
Indeed, 1&1 noted that it is the “first network operator in Europe to rely entirely on innovative Open RAN technology — fully virtualized in the private cloud, ready for applications in real time and independent of dominant equipment suppliers.” It added that it has “set out to stimulate competition and create innovation” as Germany’s fourth network operator.
To be sure, none of the three open RAN operators has found it easy to build their network and business operations. EchoStar/Dish Network is struggling financially, while Rakuten Mobile remains mired in the red, recently raising funds through the sale and leaseback of a portion of its mobile network assets.
Meanwhile, Rakuten Mobile parent and e-commerce giant Rakuten Group created Rakuten Symphony to package and sell network technologies from the company and its ecosystem of partners, including those in the Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP). Rakuten has become a key partner of 1&1, which is relying on the company’s architecture.
For its part, 1&1 has been hampered by network rollout issues, although that has more to do with the placement of antennas, and also recently experienced some fallout from a major outage of its 5G network.
Comparisons to Dish in the U.S.
Roger Entner, founder and lead analyst of Recon Analytics, outlined the similarities and contrasts between Dish and 1&1 in the progress they have made to date.
“The commonality is that both are in the process of building a cloud-native O-RAN 5G network and are the fourth player in a large market,” Entner observed. “Dish built it themselves, whereas 1&1 relies on Rakuten’s architecture. Dish struggled initially but has built an impressive network, whereas for 1&1 things were smoother as it relied on Rakuten but has had problems getting enough access to tower to build coverage. This is something Dish did not struggle with.”
At the same time, he added, 1&1 “is a huge reseller in Germany and a real player, which is something Dish has not been able to achieve. Dish is certainly struggling with finding the right market positioning to attract more customers.”
Roy Chua, founder at AvidThink, also noted that both Dish and 1&1 are greenfield 5G operators that are taking a cloud-native and open RAN-based approach, but said Dish is using the public cloud supported by AWS, while 1&1 is using private cloud with Rakuten.
Dish’s vendor list includes AWS, Blue Planet (Ciena), Cisco, Dell, Fujitsu, Intel, JMA, Mavenir, Nokia, Oracle, Palo Alto, Qualcomm, Samsung, Spirent, VMware and others, Chua said.
1&1 has noted that it works with around 100 partners. These include Dell and Supermicro (servers), Cisco (routers), Rakuten, Mavenir and Altiostar (software) and NEC and Communications Components (antennas).