Munich (dpa / lby) – In order to facilitate emergency calls and enable faster sending of summit selfies, Vodafone wants to expand its mobile network in the Bavarian Alps. Twelve new masts are to be erected in eight districts by mid-2023, the Düsseldorf-based company announced on Thursday. On the one hand, network reception can be vital in alpine emergency situations, on the other hand, the need for fast mobile Internet is increasing in the mountains. According to a network analysis, 28 percent more data was sent via mobile communications there last year than in 2020.
According to a Vodafone spokesman, the new mobile phone masts should each cover a radius of four to five kilometers. The construction in the Alps is quite complex due to the terrain, nature conservation regulations and the more difficult power supply. In addition, the company wants to install additional antennas on already erected masts to increase LTE broadband and 5G capacities.
Telekom announced that network expansion in the Alps always had to be balanced between nature conservation and mobile phone coverage. The company is basically “always looking for new locations,” said a spokesman. However, one is dependent on the help of municipalities and landlords. In the counties along the Alps, the network coverage of the population has so far been 98 percent.
