By Patrick Costello

Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE.XE) said Wednesday that it aims to be the first telecoms operator to roll out 5G mobile service in Germany by activating its next-generation mobile network in six German cities by the end of the year.

The German telecoms provider said it plans to have built and brought online roughly 300 5G mobile antennas in Germany by the end of 2019, rolling out 5G service in six cities including Berlin, Bonn and Munich.

The company aims to connect the 20 largest German cities to 5G networks by the end of 2020 before expanding the service to less densely populated areas, it said.

"Our goal now is to get 5G to the streets, to our customers, as quickly as possible," Deutsche Telekom board member Dirk Woessner said.

Telekom is likewise the first provider in Germany to offer customers 5G-capable devices and matching rate plans, with its first 5G smartphone already available in its stores, it said.

Deutsche Telekom spent nearly 2.2 billion euros ($2.48 billion) to procure 5G spectrum at auctions held in Germany earlier this year.

Germany raised a total of roughly EUR6.55 billion in bids for spectrum at the auction from Telekom and its peers Telefonica Deutschland AG, Vodafone Germany (O2D.XE) and 1&1 Drillisch AG (DRI.XE).

Write to Patrick Costello at patrick.costello@dowjones.com.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 03, 2019 10:37 ET (14:37 GMT)

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