DT launches campus network solution with industrial 5G spectrum

The new campus network solution will allow companies to use their own 5G industrial frequencies in the 3.7 to 3.8 GHz range exclusively

German carrier Deutsche Telekom announced a new campus network solution for business customers, the company said in a release. With the new product, dubbed ‘Campus Network M with Industrial Frequencies’, Deutsche Telekom said it will offer business customers all the benefits of a private 5G network — without the need for additional investments in their own 5G core network.

Based on a 5G campus infrastructure within Deutsche Telekom’s public network, the new offering will allow companies to use their own 5G industrial frequencies in the 3.7 to 3.8 GHz range exclusively. The commercial launch followed successful tests in the 5G Campus network of the injection molding machine manufacturer Arburg in January 2023.

The new solution is based on the existing product ‘Campus Network M,” a dual-slice campus network, which is operated via the public 3.6 GHz frequency range in Telekom’s 5G network. It combines a public 5G network with a virtual private network, enabling companies to benefit from optimal and stable coverage via Telekom’s public 5G network – for example, for employees, suppliers or customers. On the other hand, mission-critical data traffic, for example from machinery, runs separately by a virtual private network and can also be prioritized.

With the new Campus-Netz M product with industrial frequencies, companies benefit from the exclusivity of the local 5G spectrum in the 3.7 to 3.8 GHz range. These 5G frequencies are specifically made available by the German Federal Network Agency for industrial purposes. Previously, to use these purely private frequencies companies would need to install their own 5G core network infrastructure on site, Deutsche Telekom said.

With the new solution, however, business customers get their own core network components within the Telekom network. Critical data thus continues to run separately from the public network.

The new offering enables the use of exclusive SIM cards for connected devices and guarantees full private 5G network performance with download speeds of up to 1GBit/s. At the same time, public 5G coverage is fully available. This provides customers with two 5G frequency bands and a total of around 190 megahertz of bandwidth.

“Our new 5G Campus network offering enables our customers to digitalize and optimize their business in a smarter way. By integrating their own spectrum into local 5G networks in a cost-efficient way, companies now get additional and exclusive 5G bandwidth for their digital applications,” said Hagen Rickmann, managing director responsible for Business Customers at Telekom Deutschland.

Deutsche Telekom had previously integrated the new product into the campus network of German company Arburg’s corporate headquarters at the beginning of 2023. In order to use the industrial frequencies, the machines at the Arburg Customer Center in Lossburg were equipped with special routers and exclusive SIM cards. Separated from the public data traffic, Arburg can thus test innovative applications such as automated production processes. Furthermore, at the customer center, clients from the various plastics processing industries, such as the automotive, electrical and packaging industries or medical technology, can test digital manufacturing concepts based on 5G.