Telecommunications industry in Germany - statistics & facts
Deutsche Telekom dominates the telecommunications industry in Germany. The powerhouse company had a revenue of almost 26 billion euros, whilst its closest competitor, Vodafone Germany, had a revenue of just over 11 billion euros.
The total revenue of the telecommunication industry in was estimated to reach almost 60 billion euros in 2023. That same year, in terms of revenue by segment, mobile communications were predicted to bring in almost 27.6 billion euros, followed by 25.7 billion euros from landline connections and over six billion euros from cable television.
One aspect of mobile services that has become increasingly important is mobile data. Over the past few years there has been a rollout of 5G enabling people to be online whilst on the move. Some states in Germany are already seeing a 100 percent coverage rate for households and those not yet at 100 percent are close behind.
Landlines
The number of landline telephone connections in Germany experienced a drop in the last decade, arriving at its lowest point in 2014, but picked up again in later years. The rise in popularity of smartphones has to some extent had a detrimental effect on landlines, as they can be viewed as obsolete. The amount of outgoing call minutes per day from landline networks in Germany decreased significantly in the last twenty years, peaking at 586 million minutes in 2003, then dropping to an estimated 218 million daily minutes in 2023. This further demonstrates the preference to smartphones over landlines. They provide a service landlines cannot, connection whilst on the go. A similar trend of falling numbers is visible in landline services revenue during the same period, peaking at 38.5 billion euros in 2005 and declining afterwards, amounting to an estimated 27 billion euros in 2023.Mobile services
Meanwhile, the number of mobile phone connections in Germany, while fluctuating in some years, has generally experienced continuous growth, counting over 185 million in 2023. In the same period, the most used provider was Vodafone (D2 network), followed by Deutsche Telekom (D1 network). In 2021, mobile data volume usage amounted to over 65 million gigabytes, continuing sharp increase in the usage of mobile data among consumers. The number of smartphone users in Germany mushroomed, from 6.3 million in 2009 to almost 69 million in 2023.One aspect of mobile services that has become increasingly important is mobile data. Over the past few years there has been a rollout of 5G enabling people to be online whilst on the move. Some states in Germany are already seeing a 100 percent coverage rate for households and those not yet at 100 percent are close behind.
