"Yes, there are still white spots on the map of mobile communications." The Hessian Digital Minister Kristina Sinemus (CDU) does not dispute this.

But it underscores the progress that it backs up with numbers.

According to this, the supply of households in Hesse has increased from 97.8 percent to 99.7 percent since she took office in January 2019.

Ewald Hetrodt

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung in Wiesbaden.

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Shortly before the state elections in autumn 2018, the state concluded a "mobile communications pact" with the providers Telekom, Telefonica and Vodafone, which was intended to accelerate expansion across the country and improve the quality of transmission. Companies should set up new transmission towers and renew old ones.

The state wanted to make their business easier by providing their own space and improving the framework conditions.

Sinemus determined that a total of 5,758 cell phone sites had been newly built or extensively renovated.

4000 its been planned.

The masts transmit at least with the LTE standard 4 G. On average, five new or modernized ones are added every day.

The networks of the three companies are available in parallel for more than 95 percent of Hessian households.

"This will further significantly reduce disconnections and further improve customers' freedom of choice."

"Enormously helpful"

The minister also spoke of a high expansion dynamic with regard to the 5 G network.

With larger data transmission capacities and a higher network speed, it creates the basis for even better networking of machines, devices and people.

Hesse now has 1,754 locations of the 5 G standard. This is a doubling of the number compared to the previous year.

Sinemus announced that the expansion would be pushed ahead, especially in rural areas, "in order to realize our vision of nationwide 5G in Hesse and to be ready for the G6 network from 2030".

In addition, the prescribed distances in the outdoor area have been increased.

This change is "enormously helpful," emphasized Vodafone boss Hannes Ametsreiter.

The SPD parliamentary group in the state parliament criticized the cell phone pact. MP Bijan Kaffenberger primarily complained about the associated funding program of 50 million euros. This is intended to enable nationwide expansion even where it is not worthwhile for companies given the small number of customers. The program proved to be a "toothless tiger". Because “not a single mobile phone mast has been built with it so far,” says Kaffenberger.

The reason for the progressive expansion is probably the fulfillment of the federal supply requirement.

The social democrat believes that there is no need for support programs or mobile phone packages from the state government to ensure seamless reception.

The traffic light government at the federal level will ensure nationwide mobile communications with a strict coverage requirement and the instrument of negative auctions when allocating frequencies.