Germany's northernmost island of Sylt is getting faster connections for landline and mobile communications from Vodafone. To this end, the network operator has expanded the fiber-optic routes from the mainland and created new, additional network sections and new fiber-optic nodes. Fiber optic also forms the basis for further 5G expansion on the island.
In the past few months, 9.5 km of fiber optic cables have been laid for the extended supply of the island, Vodafone said today. “Above all, thanks to the multiple connections to the mainland, we ensure more stability and even more performance in our gigabit networks,” said Gerhard Mack, Vodafone's chief technology officer. Specifically, according to Vodafone, the central connection from the mainland to the island has been expanded from 10 to 20 Gbit/s, which doesn't seem like much, a question to Vodafone is still open. In addition, the central technology location was connected to another fiber optic link in order to increase the reliability of the network and create alternative routes.
Smaller network sections too on Sylt
For the islanders and holidaymakers, the expansion means that around 6,000 households in Kampen, Wenningstedt-Braderup and Westerland as well as in Tinnum and Keitum will now have better connections. The number of households that have to share a network area has been reduced by the measure, so that larger bandwidth reserves are now available and more gigabit connections are possible. Depending on the location and especially in some expansion areas, Vodafone mentions improvements by a factor of 5. The situation for users should improve, especially at peak times.
More fiber optics for smaller coaxial network sections is a project that Vodafone has been promoting since the end of April this year. A frequently expressed point of criticism of the cable network is the transmission rates that do not correspond to the advertised speeds at peak times when many households are using a lot of bandwidth at the same time 5G expansion
On Sylt, fiber optic expansion also forms the basis for future 5G expansion. “We are now taking care of the 5G expansion on Sylt, step by step,” said Mack. Vodafone already operates a mobile network with 5G on the island, as can be seen from the network coverage map. With LTE, apart from a small area in the northwest of the island, all of Sylt is covered. A look at the network map of Deutsche Telekom reveals that almost the entire island already has 5G reception. Including LTE, the tip in the northwest is also missing there. There are also practically no gaps with O2 on the island, but 5G is not yet being expanded.