Vodafone Germany is to test LTE technology in the digital dividend band this summer using Huawei kit as part of a new alliance between the two companies. The initiative, in the 790-862MHz digital dividend band, will test LTE’s ability to provide mobile broadband coverage to rural and urban areas in Germany and its compatibility with technologies such as Digital TV and Digital Radio. The test will be based on Huawei’s equipment and both parties will form a joint working group for conducting the test. “By cooperating with local telecoms authorities, utilising the rich LTE experiences from Vodafone Germany and Huawei, we are confident that the test will be carried out successfully,” Hartmut Kremling, CTO of Vodafone Germany, said in a statement. 

The trial with Huawei is Vodafone Germany’s second major initiative in this area. In May, the operator teamed with German public broadcaster WDR and the federal government of North Rhine-Westphalia to launch LTE services in rural areas in the region using digital dividend spectrum. In February, rival German mobile operator E-Plus partnered with Ericsson and the German state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to launch a mobile broadband pilot using digital dividend frequencies. The trials follow moves earlier in the year by the German government to free up frequencies in the digital dividend band for mobile broadband use. The spectrum is being freed up by the move from analogue to digital TV. The lower frequencies are considered to make network expansion into rural areas more economically viable and enable greater ‘in-building’ coverage.