Orange already deployed 5G services in 1,529 towns and cities in 52 provinces across Spain
Spanish telcos have accelerated 5G deployments during 2022 and a further expansion of this technology is expected for 2023 with the new spectrum in the 26 GHz band recently awarded by the Spanish government.
Local telco Orange already deployed 5G services in 1,529 towns and cities in 52 provinces across Spain, surpassing its initial target for the full year.
According to the European carrier, its 5G network infrastructure reached 69% of the Spanish population as of the end of the third quarter.
Orange previously said it expected its 5G network to reach 1,500 localities by the end of 2022.
The telco ended September with a total of 1.47 million subscribers in the 5G segment, after a net addition of 850,000 over the last 12 months.
Orange Spain is currently offering 5G services through frequencies in the 3.5 GHz and 700 MHz bands.
Earlier this year, when Orange announced its deployment of 5G in the 700 MHz band, it said it would offer this technology progressively over the course of 2022 in more than 1,100 towns and cities, 820 of them having between 1,000 and 50,000 citizens.
Orange noted it has accelerated the deployment of 5G in the 700 MHz band during the third quarter of the year and now this technology already reaches 1,212 towns and cities across Spain.
Telefonica’s 5G network reaches 82% of the Spanish population
Meanwhile, rival operator Telefonica’s 5G network currently covers 82% of the Spanish population.
The carrier said its 5G network provides coverage to 38 million people in 1,431 towns and cities across Spain.
By the end of 2022, the telco aims to reach 1,400 municipalities in Spain with its 5G service using this spectrum band, with the goal of reaching 2,400 by the end of 2023.
Telefonica had announced the activation of 5G services using spectrum in the 700MHz band in February.
In July 2021, Telefónica officially announced its decision to award the contracts to deploy its 5G standalone radio networks across Spain to Nordic vendors Ericsson and Nokia.
Masmovil is currently offering 5G service in almost 1,400 towns and cities in 51 provinces across Spain for the customers of its Yoigo brand.
According to the operator, 70% of the country’s population is already covered with its 5G network infrastructure. Masmovil also said that it had reached 505 new towns and cities in its latest 5G expansion.
The carrier’s 5G service is being offered via a combination of its own infrastructure and an agreement with rival operator Orange. Masmovil currently has 80 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band for the provision of 5G services nationwide.
The operator said it aims to continue deploying 5G infrastructure in the coming months to expand its current coverage. Masmovil also noted that its 5G portfolio already includes over 30 devices.
In October 2019, Masmovil signed an agreement with Orange Spain covering mobile, fiber and broadband technologies. The deal gave Masmovil access to Orange Spain’s entire 5G network thanks to a “virtual active sharing mode” agreement, enabling it to deploy 5G in 4,500 locations that cover 35% of the Spanish population in 40 main cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga and Bilbao.
Meanwhile, Vodafone noted that its 5G network will be available in 1,000 municipalities across Spain by the end of the year, reaching 46% of the population.
Vodafone initially launched 5G services in Spain via NSA architecture in 2019 while the telco launched a pre-commercial 5G SA network in June 2021.
In January of 2022, Vodafone Spain announced the start of the initial deployment of 5G coverage via the 700 MHz frequency in 109 municipalities in 30 provinces across the country, after the telco secured 2×10 megahertz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band in July 2021.
Vodafone said it will continue to boost coverage using the 700 MHz frequencies until reaching 30% of municipalities with up to 50,000 inhabitants in December 2022.
