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Ahead of this year’s live Connected Germany event, we spoke with Nelson Killius, Management Board Spokesperson at M-net Telekommunikations, about the importance of fibre for 5G networks and the next steps for German connectivity
Please can you introduce yourself and your current role?
I have been chairman of the management board of the leading Bavarian fiber networks provider M-net since December 2018 and member of the board at the German fiber association Bundesverband Glasfaseranschluss e. V. (BUGLAS) since May 2019. In my role at M-net, I am responsible for marketing and sales, finance, and HR, as well as for corporate staff departments.
How does M-net fit into Germany’s mobile network ecosystem?
It may sound trivial, but a mobile connection does not simply come out of plain air. From a certain point in the topology, each mobile infrastructure becomes a fixed line infrastructure. Given the bandwidth and latency that customers expect, 5G needs a very powerful backbone infrastructure to get data to and from the base stations. That is why we at M-net see ourselves not as competitors, but as partners for the mobile network operators. As the leading Bavarian fiber network operators we can provide the MNOs with the high performance backbone and bandwidth services they require – especially in our core footprint in Munich, where we can offer a coherent “sea of fiber” for anybody interested to set anchor.
What have been the biggest developments in Germany’s rollout of 5G networks in the last year?
I very much appreciate every step that takes us further towards an internationally competitive broadband coverage that Gemany as an industrial nation requires. That’s why I am very happy about the increasing network roll-out – especially in rural areas that have not been provided with fiber connections yet.
From a company’s perspective, I am very proud of the first connection of an Open-RAN microcell to our fiber network which we presented together with Telefónica as a pilot in February in Munich. We have developed a special wavelength product for dedicated bandwidth share on a single fiber which is now ready for the market.
What are you most looking forward to at Connected Germany?
I am of course looking forward to meet our partners and other market players in person again. Due to Covid, we have had to do without personal exchange and networking much too long. So – although we still have to be very careful of course – it’s time to go out and meet again!
Want to hear more from Nelson and M-net on the relationship between fibre and 5G in Germany? It’s not too late to join the live Connected Germany conference TOMORROW in Mainz. Get your ticket here
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