Nokia Siemens Networks has been selected by Deutsche Telekom for immediate roll-out of LTE in 800 MHz band. Deutsche Telekom AG will launch LTE later this year in Germany. Network roll out began following the "digital dividend" spectrum auction which ended May 20, 2010. 

Deutsche Telekom selected Nokia Siemens Networks as one of its suppliers for hardware, software and services required to set up and maintain the LTE radio network across Germany.

"In a first step LTE will enable broadband access in rural areas, where fast access to the Internet has so far been unavailable," said Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, director technology Telekom Deutschland GmbH.

For its LTE services, Deutsche Telekom will use the 800 MHz ‘digital dividend’ frequency band, radio spectrum formerly used by analog TV. Thanks to its reach, this spectrum is best suited to cover rural areas with mobile broadband Internet.

The major part of the contract in Germany is dedicated to services. Nokia Siemens Networks is planning and optimizing the LTE network to deliver the quality and coverage that Deutsche Telekom requires to expand into rural areas. It is also handling the implementation and maintenance elements of the project to ensure a rapid roll-out without interruption to existing 2G and 3G services. In its first phase, the roll-out began in rural areas, so called ‘whitespots’ where no broadband access of any kind is available.