The Telefonica 2.6 GHz frequency band and the Telefonica national roaming contract are largely unrelated. However, they both stem from a self-commitment by Telefónica during its merger with E-Plus in 2014 to divest some of its radio frequencies and sell up to 30% of its merged network capacity to one or several MVNO(s). 1&1 leased the Telefonica 2.6 GHz frequency in December 2019 and entered into national roaming with Telefonica in May 2021.1&1 also acquired two frequency blocks of 10 MHz in the 2 GHz band during the 2019 auction but this will only be operational in January 2026. At the time, 1&1 said it was going to use the Telefonica 2.6 GHz frequency as a bridge until their own frequency in the 2 GHz can be used. However, it now says the more of these frequencies, the better.
High-band frequencies (2.6 GHz and 2 GHz) are largely deployed for capacity coverage such as in urban centers and are largely incapable of penetrating through walls. On the other hand, low-band frequencies are capable of penetrating through walls and are good for rural coverage. 1&1 stated that with 12,000 antenna sites, it expects to achieve 60% traffic coverage with low-band spectrum and 50% without it. Looking at the gap in traffic coverage, it’s evident that the high-band frequencies are as important as the low-band frequencies.
1&1 pointed out that we can say the high-band frequencies (2.6 GHz and 2.0 GHz) are in “safe territory” while the low-band frequencies are still not in “safe territory”.
Given that 1&1’s network buildout is still at an early stage, the 2.0 GHz spectrum, which becomes available next year, should be able to offset the loss of the 2.6 GHz band as negotiations continue.