LTE: Telefónica O2 Germany to launch LTE services on July 1st.

WorldWideTech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.

Operator reportedly conservative with its connection speeds; Deutsche Telekom to begin LTE tests by summer.

Telefonica O2 Germany plans to launch commercial LTE services on 1 July, it emerged this week, although the operator has made conservative estimates about the speed of its new network.

According to a report by Teltarif.de, O2 Germany did not provide pricing details during a press conference at CeBIT in Hanover on Tuesday, but said that its new network will offer connection speeds in line with an "average DSL connection". By comparison rival operator Vodafone, which rolled out LTE in Germany in December 2010, offers connection speeds ranging from 7.2 Mbps up to 50 Mbps.

German telecoms regulator Bundesnetzagentur said in its most recent annual report, published in March 2010, that broadband speeds typically fall between 2 Mbps and 10 Mbps. The watchdog didn't break down connection speeds by access technology, but in terms of penetration DSL accounted for just below 90% of Germany's 25 million broadband connections at the end of 2009.

Meanwhile incumbent operator Deutsche Telekom in a separate announcement provided an update on its own LTE plans.

The company said on Monday that it will begin LTE trials with some of its business customers at the beginning of this summer.

"In addition, Cologne will receive near-total LTE coverage, based on the 1.8 and 2.6-GHz frequency bands, and [services will be] made available to consumers," said a statement from Deutsche Telekom.

The operator said its aim is to provide connection speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

As well as Deutsche Telekom, O2, and Vodafone, Dutch incumbent KPN's local unit E-Plus was also among the operators to secure LTE spectrum during Germany's frequency auction carried out in May 2010.

The telco announced in February that it will use its airwaves in the 2.6-GHz band to trial TD-LTE technology in the first quarter of 2011, in partnership with Chinese kit maker ZTE, which will supply base stations, and China Mobile, which will provide technical assistance.