Telefónica: “We in Germany are good at always going the extra mile” | EUROtoday

Few managers have been related to their firm for so long as Markus Haas. He has been there for 27 years. The head of Telefónica Deutschland has thus skilled the enlargement of 4 generations of cellular communications. But the 52-year-old stays impatient. He has an entire vary of options for the subsequent federal authorities. At the highest of the record: the digital ID card in your mobile phone.

WELT: Mr. Haas, three quarters of ten to 12 12 months olds have already got a smartphone. It is even widespread in youthful youngsters. How early is just too early?

Markus Haas: Das is a person resolution. It is way more essential that the mother and father additionally take care. You need to set guidelines about what works and what does not work. For instance, all widespread smartphones include baby safety features. Parents ought to reap the benefits of these options.

WELT: How is it at residence?

Haas: My daughters obtained a smartphone after they have been ten – with a set display time. We additionally checked it and noticed what it was used for. If obligatory, you need to make changes and undoubtedly stay approachable. What does not work is just giving youngsters a mobile phone and leaving them alone with it. You need to outline along with them what’s okay and what’s not. What pictures or info you possibly can share. It have to be clear that the community doesn’t overlook something. The earlier youngsters begin utilizing smartphones, the upper the academic mandate of oldsters and the academic mandate of faculties. But when youngsters attain double-digit ages, it’s virtually tough to be in contact with associates with no smartphone.

WELT: Do you really nonetheless use the Twitter successor X?

Haas: No. I’m a purist and solely use LinkedIn and WhatsApp.

WELT: X proprietor Elon Musk has grow to be Donald Trump’s closest advisor. How are you and your organization making ready for the American president?

Haas: O2 Telefónica in Germany is a part of the worldwide Telefónica group. As a global communications firm, we’re all for dialogue with politicians on the problems that have an effect on us. This additionally applies to the USA.

WELT: Trump already entered into powerful confrontation with China in his first presidency and likewise demanded that Germany take away parts from Chinese provider Huawei from its networks.

Haas: We went with a European producer for our core community very early on. Almost 60 p.c of our antennas are from producers that aren’t from China. We have additionally agreed with the federal authorities that crucial components of community management have to be operated with non-Chinese community suppliers by the top of 2029 on the newest. We are making our total antenna community much more self-sufficient in a single fell swoop.

WELT: Will the Trump administration be happy with this? Or do you not have to arrange for an excessive state of affairs?

Haas: I can think about that there can be additional discussions in relation to 6G, the subsequent era of cellular communications.

WELT: Would Huawei-free networks even be conceivable?

Haas: I do not wish to make a prediction. Basically, everybody has benefited from world competitors when it comes to high quality and innovation cycles. And the calls for on the networks are growing and changing into extra advanced. Therefore, particular person producers shouldn’t be excluded throughout the board.

WELT: Not solely the USA, Germany too is getting a brand new authorities. Do you could have a want record?

Haas: There is. And on prime of that could be a digital ministry that might actually make a distinction. Currently, the digital duties don’t observe any logic, however relatively the proportional illustration of a coalition in a number of ministries. I’d additionally like the brand new authorities to introduce digital ID playing cards on smartphones inside six months. The options for this exist, as different international locations present. Then each citizen would really feel that one thing is going on and issues are shifting ahead. Such a step would allow many enterprise fashions and cut back forms. I feel this is able to create a sure enthusiasm for digitalization. So that we are able to shut the final gaps, cellular communications have to be outlined as an overriding public curiosity. We would additionally want simplified information safety.

WELT: However, that is regulated within the European General Data Protection Regulation.

Haas: But we in Germany are good at at all times going the additional mile. Vague authorized phrases comparable to “anonymized” are interpreted significantly strictly in Germany. And 16 totally different state authorities on the topic do not make it any simpler. This means we’re depriving ourselves of many alternatives. Around 80 p.c of all industrial information generated within the EU isn’t used at this time as a result of it’s too unclear what can be utilized or not. This is so sophisticated that many corporations merely avoid it.

WELT: And how might it’s higher?

Haas: We want an EU-wide widespread and extra business-friendly understanding of what “personal” and “anonymous” imply. The use of private information could be strictly dealt with, however every thing else must be allowed. This would gasoline the need for information assortment, information switch and information evaluation. We then speak about information that comes out of machines which might be generated in an industrial setting. That would not value the state something. There are already corresponding EU initiatives.

WELT: In the 12 months that simply ended, your current was already earlier than Christmas, when the Federal Network Agency indicated that it will lengthen the cell phone frequencies subsequent time and never public sale them off once more.

Haas: This is the appropriate step. And in return, we’re obliged to create in depth nationwide protection with quick cellular web by the top of 2029. This is a really formidable aim for us and a fantastic aim for Germany. We hope that the extension plan can be lastly confirmed within the first quarter of subsequent 12 months. In current years, Germany has solely managed to catch up in cellular community enlargement with nice effort. That would not have been obligatory if we hadn’t spent a lot cash on frequency auctions within the earlier 20 years. But we are actually in place and properly on the way in which to changing into primary in 5G in Europe too.

WELT: At the final public sale, a few of the frequencies have been awarded to corporations for native networks. Are you continue to mourning this?

Haas: To be trustworthy: sure. Because that could be a very precious nationwide spectrum that we’re lacking. There have been fewer than 500 functions for very small cell functions of those campus networks. Sometimes it covers an airport space, generally a small firm website. But the remainder of the realm in Germany, and we’re speaking about round 99.9 p.c, isn’t used for these frequencies. The entire factor was an experiment that Germany undertook and which was demanded by many industrial corporations on the time. But expertise exhibits that corporations have little curiosity in constructing their networks themselves.

WELT: And what occurs subsequent?

Haas: The Ministry of Digital and Transport lately launched a survey to learn how excessive the demand for campus networks actually is. Now now we have to attend and see. The truth is: It would make sense to offer these frequencies to cellular community operators, who might then present extra capability and better information speeds within the quick time period. In addition, we are able to virtually present corporations with an area community slice, an unbiased, partitioned community space on our networks, which they will then use with assured capacities. You might additionally take into consideration a form of opt-out mannequin wherein we really disconnect a community regionally for corporations.

WELT: In the meantime, you could possibly enhance the availability on the trains. Things nonetheless look unhealthy there.

Haas: Let’s put it this manner: The networks have by no means been nearly as good as they’re at this time. And we as O2 Telefónica have lately made the most important leap ahead in relation to community high quality. But all community operators on the prepare aren’t adequate. For instance, we do not make progress within the tunnels as shortly as we’d have preferred.

WELT: Why is that?

Haas: On common, it nonetheless takes considerably greater than two years to increase a tunnel, additionally as a result of timetables need to be modified. There are a number of hundred tunnels that aren’t adequately provided, which then results in demolitions. Some are even listed as historic monuments, so the votes take for much longer. These are challenges and we’re working intently with Deutsche Bahn on this. Another drawback is the window panes of the trains, that are coated in order that radio indicators can not penetrate due to the warmth and chilly insulation. The railway is now processing these home windows with lasers in order that they grow to be a little bit extra clear.

WELT: Your community ought to quickly be very empty. More than ten million 1&1 clients are shifting to competitor Vodafone. Are you feeling lonely but?

Haas: Quite the alternative. We managed to accumulate many new clients final 12 months. With Lyca Mobile, Lebara and the enlargement of our present partnerships comparable to with Freenet, now we have robust reputation. We are additionally gaining increasingly enterprise clients. We assume that we can utterly compensate for the lack of 1&1.

WELT: More and extra folks are actually utilizing functions that entry synthetic intelligence. Will this push the networks (AI) to their limits?

Haas: We count on that some AI functions can be carried out on smartphones. Hybrid processors then deal with the computing energy instantly on the machine. This already relieves the pressure on the networks. And we’re seeing that video utilization on our networks is not rising as shortly as prior to now. There appears to be a sure saturation right here. AI functions comparable to ChatGPT or Gemini are actually getting into this hole. These are nonetheless small requests in the mean time, however we acknowledge that one thing larger is coming our manner.

In 1998, Markus Haas joined Viag Interkom, a newcomer to the telecommunications business. Viag Interkom later turned O2 after which Telefónica. Haas is 52 years previous, married and has two daughters. He lives in Munich, the place he was born and studied regulation. Haas has been CEO of Telefónica Deutschland Holding since 2017. He can be vp of the digital affiliation Bitkom.

Thomas Heuzeroth is a enterprise editor in Berlin. He studies on Consumer- and know-how matters, Consumer electronics and telecommunications.