1&1: Difference between revisions

1&1 is a German telecommunication company that is currently building its own 5G network based on OPEN RAN. Once it launches its network, it will become the fourth MNO in Germany, marking a change in its business model, which has been relying on a wholesale agreement, called MBA-MVNO with Telefonica. The wholesale agreement grants 1&1 up to 30% hosting capacity in Telefonica's network. To ensure better coverage for its users once it launches its network, 1&1 entered into a long-term national roaming agreement (NRA) with Telefonica in May 2021. The NRA provided for price protection until June 2029. Thereafter, Telefonica will be obliged to charge non-discriminatory prices. Also, the NRA gave 1&1 users non-discriminatory access to Telefónica's 2G and 4G mobile network in areas that won't have 1&1 5G coverage yet. The main disadvantage of this NRA was the fact that from January 2026,  access to 4G national roaming in Telefónica's network in certain urban areas covered by 1&1 5G will be limited to up to 50 Mbit/s. This would not have been a big deal had 1&1's network buildout gone according to the plan. 1&1's network buildout suffered significant delays due to supply chain problems encountered by its largest partner, Vantage Towers. As a result, 1&1 failed to meet its 1,000 antenna sites obligations by the end of 2022. At the end of Q3 2023, 1&1 had only managed to construct 503 antenna sites, of which only 60 were active. This presented a risk that the 1&1 network will likely be poor once it's launched. To mitigate this as well as the risk of having limited access to Telefonica's 4G network, 1&1 entered into a NRA with Vodafone in August 2023. As a result, 1&1 will not renew its contract with Telefonica in 2026 but the two contracts will have to run in parallel until then. The agreement will grant 1&1 usage rights in Vodafone's 2G, 4G and 5G networks. The terms of the Vodafone agreement are also attractive compared to that entered with Telefonica. For instance, 1&1 will pay a fixed price based on the percentage of Vodafone's network that its customers use. 1&1 applied to the Federal Network Agency for such parallel operations, but a decision on it has not been made yet. Fortunately, on November 22, 2023, 1&1 expanded its contract with Telefonica to include 5G coverage, making the prospected network launch in December 2023 almost a reality.