O2 Telefonica said it is working with module and device manufacturers to drive the development of RedCap technology.
German telecommunications company O2 Telefonica, a subsidiary of Spanish telecommunications company Telefonica, has announced that it is currently testing 5G Reduced Capability (RedCap) technology.
The company said in a release that it has successfully tested the integration of 5G RedCap devices into a commercial 5G network in Munich.
“With our network, we are creating the technical prerequisites to connect millions of devices efficiently and cost-effectively. It will be important to watch how the market, the world of products and digital applications develop,” said Malik Rao, chief technology and information officer at O2 Telefonica.
RedCap, also known as NR Light, is a reduced set of 5G features for devices such as wearables and low-cost hotspots that have lower battery consumption, lower cost and lower bandwidth requirements. Introduced in 3GPP Release 17, 5G RedCap is designed for devices that currently serve LTE CAT-4 but offers equal or better performance with a theoretical maximum downlink throughput of up to 150 Mbps. This technology helps reduce the complexity, cost and size of 5G devices.
The German telecommunications company said its 5G network is prepared for the use of 5G RedCap because it does not require dedicated antennas. O2 Telefonica also said it is working with module and device makers to advance the development of the technology.
O2 Telefonica recently announced that it has already deployed approximately 10,000 5G base stations since launching its 5G services in October 2020.
The German carrier said it has installed an average of more than 50 new 5G transmitters every week since the launch of its network. Last year alone, the company installed 3,000 5G base stations across the country. The company said its 5G network now reaches 95% of the German population.
In October 2023, O2 Telefónica announced the launch of its 5G Standalone (SA) network in the country under the 5G Plus brand. Until this launch, the German telecommunications company had been offering 5G services through a Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G architecture, partly via its LTE/4G core network.
The company noted that the new network will give customers access to Voice-over-New-Radio (VoNR) technology, allowing them to make calls with even better voice quality over 5G networks.
O2 Telefonica said it has already been using 5G SA technology in its 5G campus network for businesses and public institutions since 2020. The company noted that this new deployment will allow more businesses in various sectors, including industry, healthcare and the public sector, to access improved connectivity.
The company’s 5G Plus will use the 700MHz, 1.8GHz and 3.6GHz frequency bands, and the company expects its 5G SA service to cover the whole of Germany by the end of 2025.
Last year, O2 Telefónica and Ericsson completed a proof of concept (PoC) aimed at paving the way for the development of 5G Cloud RAN technology in Europe.
Ericsson and O2 Telefonica say the collaboration “validates the viability” of Cloud RAN for enterprise and industry-specific use cases, as well as fixed wireless access (FWA) use cases.
