German telecommunications provider Telefónica Deutschland has secured a €450 million ($498 million) loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which it will use to roll out an energy-efficient 5G network and consolidate its LTE network.
“5G, the next-generation mobile standard, is fast approaching,” said Ambroise Fayolle, vice president of EIB, in charge of innovation and operations in Germany. “It will enormously improve existing wireless applications and open up completely new areas of business. That is the basis for innovation and growth in Europe, an objective that along with climate action is one of the EU bank's top priorities.”
The EIB said it only supports financing projects that meet high environmental and social standards. 5G technology enables large volumes of data to be transmitted using less energy, meeting the EIB’s criteria.
In December 2019, Telefónica Deutschland announced plans to ramp up its investment in mobile networks in 20
