Telekom
Deutschland
GmbH

• Connect mobile network test and 5G network – test winner 
• Chip mobile network test – first place in the “Best network” category 
• Computer Bild network test – first place in the “Best Mobile Network” category
• Plastic Recycling Award Europe: Speed Home WLAN  mesh repeater 

In the last few years, Telekom Deutschland has invested extensively in its fixed and mobile networks. These continuous investments are paying off for our customers – repeated victories in the mobile network tests by CHIP, connect, and Computer Bild also attest to this.

In 2001, Telekom Deutschland agreed various measures for a socially acceptable network expansion as part of a collaboration with other network providers with a view to expanding mobile networks in socially responsible ways. This took place within the scope of a voluntary commitment to the German government and municipal umbrella associations. 

Compliance within this framework is reviewed by independent auditors every two years. 92 percent of the municipalities surveyed in the current report said that they had had little or no controversial cases to decide. According to the report, mobile communications expansion is progressing for the most part free of conflict. The reports were published by the Federal Ministry for the Environment here (only available in German). 

Telekom Deutschland continued to pursue network expansion in 2021 and was able to cover over 90 percent of the population with 5G by the end of the year. The site certificate of Bundesnetzagentur, the German Federal Network Agency, ensures immission protection for all mobile telecommunications installations. In line with the increasing demand for information on the expansion of 5G networks, Telekom Deutschland provides information on its website. 

In addition to this, in 2021 in cooperation with the municipal umbrella organizations, the Informationszentrum Mobilfunk (Mobile Communications Information Center) published the “Mobile Communications and Health” brochures and provides comprehensive information (only available in German) to the municipalities. 

In July 2021, some regions in the west of Germany were hit by extremely heavy rain, which caused immeasurable human suffering and also caused massive destruction to Deutsche Telekom’s infrastructure in the affected areas. Numerous employees were closely involved in relief measures for the people impacted by the floods and in rebuilding the telecommunications infrastructure on site. Further information is available here. 

The “green network” of Telekom Deutschland was rolled out in 2020. What this means is that all Telekom Deutschland’s electrical power needs are now entirely fulfilled through renewable energy sources. This does not just apply to the energy needs of the entire network, but rather all other energy consumption within the company as well. 

In addition to implementing the Group’s climate protection strategy, it is also important to limit the increasing consumption of energy in network expansion. Telekom Deutschland will therefore continue its commitment to climate protection in 2021, including the continuation of the "Klimapakt² Münchner Wirtschaft" (Climate Pact²) together with the City of Munich, and will implement a number of energy efficiency measures in the PLASMA project. You can find further information here. 

Eco rating helps with environmentally conscious smartphone purchases
In 2021, Telekom, together with the European mobile service providers Orange, Telefónica, Telia Company, and Vodafone, developed an industry-wide consumer label for mobile phones: Eco Rating. To enable our customers to make sustainable purchasing decisions, we have combined all devices that have Eco Rating in our portfolio (only available in German). 

Sustainable 5G smartphone: sales of the Fairphone 4
The best way to reduce your ecological footprint is to use your smartphone for longer. That’s why the Fairphone 4 is designed as a modular device. It consists of eight replaceable components, such as the battery and the screen, and can be easily repaired. The smartphone comes with a five-year guarantee, is made from fair materials such as Fairtrade gold and recycled plastic, and is the only smartphone to be awarded the government’s “Blue Angel” ecolabel.

Award-winning repeater and climate-neutral phone case
Our Speed Home WLAN  mesh repeater has been awarded the Plastic Recycling Award Europe: its housing made of 90 percent recycled plastic was recognized by the jury as an “outstanding example of the circular use of plastic materials.” You can find further information here.

With “A Good Mobile Case” we offer our customers a climate-neutral phone case that is 100 percent organic and comes from purely plant-based production. 

Sustainable smartphone recycling
Our sustainable smartphone recycling starts with the sale of your old device in the Telekom Shop or online - our customers can save money and resources via the “TradeMyMobile” (only available in German) service: 

Provided they are suitable for refurbishment and reuse, the used mobile devices are professionally and certifiably refurbished and then resold. The display is sustainably renewed using a new, innovative deep polish; it does not have to be replaced, so the consumption of resources is minimized.

A recycled “ReUse MyMobile” smartphone offers customers a saving of up to 200 euros and a 24-month guarantee. The newly developed packaging is biodegradable. The phone sits securely in the sealed inner packaging. In many stores, customers are able to inspect the display without a film via the nifty viewing window. The new full-service mobile phone insurance package including "AppleCare Service" can now also be added to ReUse MyMobile smartphones. 

Cell phone collection 
For many years, the company has gone far beyond the legal obligation to take back mobile phones and has been able to collect more than 3.3 million used mobile phones and smartphones to date. These are either refurbished and reused or recycled in an environmentally friendly way. In total, around 203 000 devices were collected or purchased in 2021. The cell phone collection center (only available in German) has established the only take back scheme in Germany that has been awarded the government’s “Blue Angel” ecolabel. In 2021, a large-scale collection campaign was also carried out with the radio station WDR 2.