DT plays down concerns of being cut out of private 5G

INTERVIEW: Despite being able to gain 5G spectrum directly from regulators, German companies generally have little appetite to manage private networks themselves, Deutsche Telekom (DT) SVP Antje Williams told Mobile World Live.

Discussing the aftermath of Germany’s controversial 5G spectrum policy, the operator’s SVP for 5G Campus Networks noted companies generally “don’t feel that they should be the operators,” adding this was especially true for smaller enterprises.

Williams said DT didn’t really want to supply the equipment for others to run their own systems, pointing to the range of managed services it could offer on top.

However, she was bullish on the opportunity, adding in most cases “they’re always looking for somebody like us,” noting there was also a wider opportunity outside of its home market supplying its German industrial giants.

“They are always looking for global players to manage not only the [network] at the headquarter[s] in Germany, but maybe also elsewhere, so I think we as operators have pretty good cards.”