Spanish carrier Telefónica confirmed that it will participate in the auction of the 700 MHz band for 5G, which will be held next week.
Joaquín Mata, Director of Operations, Network and IT at Telefónica Spain, said: “Telefónica has a clear commitment to the development of connectivity in Spain and the auction of the 700MHZ will be a new investment to deploy an extensive coverage, greater penetration indoors and universalize some of the characteristics of 5G communications, such as low latency.”
Telefónica currently offers 5G in Spain to 80% of the population, with the installation of nodes that cover more than 37 million inhabitants and 1,253 municipalities throughout Spain.
Telefónica launched commercial 5G in Spain in September 2020 and reached a coverage of 76% of the population in three months.
Telefónica’s 5G network currently combines the deployment of 5G NSA and DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing). The operator also said it expects to deploy the 5G SA network when the technology is fully available after standardization. The telco is currently using spectrum in the 3.5GHz and 26GHz bands for 5G.
Telefónica had previously inked commercial deals with European vendors Nokia and Ericsson to supply the equipment and services for its 5G launch.
The Spanish government recently said it had received requests from telecommunications operators Telefónica, Vodafone and Orange to participate in the upcoming auction of 700MHz frequencies.
In the auction, a total of 75 MHz divided into 60 MHz for upstream and downstream communications, and 15MHz for downstream only, will be tendered, distributed in seven state-wide concessions. Four concessions correspond to two 2×10 MHz blocks and two 2×5 MHz blocks, in the paired band 703-733 MHz and 758-788 MHz for upstream and downstream communications (FDD). Also, the government will award three concessions in the 738-753 MHz band, each of which will assign the use of a 5 MHz block for downstream communications only (SDL).
The Spanish government confirmed that the auction will begin before July 21, 2021 and will take place over the Internet, using a secure Electronic Auction Platform (PES).
The Spanish government aims for 75% of the population to have 5G coverage by 2025 through the bands that have been identified as priorities: 694-790 MHz, 3.4-3.8 GHz and 24.25-27.5 GHz.
