Vodafone Germany is demonstrating voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) services on a live network at the CeBIT conference and exhibition in Hanover, Germany this week and said the all-IP technology is now being rolled out across its 4G network, which now covers 70 per cent of the country.
The company, which claims to be the first operator in Germany to roll out VoLTE, noted that the technology will ensure crystal-clear voice quality and very fast call set-up, and also provides better protection against eavesdroppers on mobile networks.
Indeed, security is a major focus of Vodafone Germany and rival Deutsche Telekom at the CeBIT trade fair, with both companies highlighting the need for increased protection of mobile voice calls and email, for example.
Vodafone Germany unveiled the Secure E-Mail service for all devices from smartphones to PCs, providing end-to-end security for email communications for small businesses through to large corporations.
Deutsche Telekom plans to help meet the security needs of consumers and small businesses by entering into partnership with four security providers: Avira (antivirus software), Steganos (encrypted VPN connection), Strato (secure data back-up in German data centres) and Secomba (encrypted data storage on all storage media). Together with these four providers, the group has put together a new, free, protection package that will be available from the second quarter.
The two German operators also launched new services relating to the cloud and the Internet of Things (IoT), with Deutsche Telekom unveiling the "Cloud der Dinge" (Cloud of Things)--two cloud-based platforms targeted at managing the IoT needs of large and medium-sized companies.
For example, the Connected Industry Platform is being launched to help large companies from different industries "connect all kinds of things easily", said Reinhard Clemens, the CEO of T-Systems and a member of Deutsche Telekom's management board.
For smaller companies, Deutsche Telekom is offering the "Industry 4.0" package, which is designed to allow small and medium-sized enterprises to connect machines and monitor their production worldwide.
Vodafone Germany, meanwhile, launched a new global platform to support the IoT strategies of small to large companies.
Of course, no telecoms industry event would be complete without some mention of 5G: Vodafone Germany for one is showcasing the next-generation mobile technology on its stand by demonstrating speeds of up to 10 Gbps. The company is focusing on 5G "made in Germany", according to CEO Jens Schulte-Bockum.
"5G will spearhead the digital transformation of our industrial landscape and society," said Schulte-Bockum. "The new real-time internet will make autonomous driving, remote surgery and genuine virtual classrooms possible. At CeBIT we will be demonstrating to public how Germany leads the field in pioneering 5G mobile communications research."
For more:
- see this Vodafone Germany release
- see this Deutsche Telekom release
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