Vodafone aims to reach 2,000 municipalities across Spain with its 5G service by end-2023
Spanish telco Vodafone Spain aims to expand its 5G network to 65% of the population this year, the carrier said in a release.
With this network expansion plan, Vodafone will reach a total of 2,000 municipalities across Spain by the end of this year. Of the 1,000 new municipalities that the operator plans to cover with 5G this year, 238 are municipalities with less than 1,000 inhabitants, mainly in rural areas of the country.
The operator uses the 700 MHz frequency to expand its 5G network, while it continues to use frequencies in the 3.7 GHz band. Vodafone has said that the 5G network in the 700 MHz frequency allows the telco to expand its coverage footprint extensively and offer better coverage inside buildings.
Vodafone initially launched 5G services in Spain via NSA architecture in 2019, and subsequently 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.
At the end of last year, the telco announced the launch of its 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services for homes and businesses. The European carrier said that its new 5G FWA offering will enable customers to access speeds of up to 1 Gbps.
Initially, Vodafone’s 5G FWA technology will be available in areas of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga, Bilbao and A Coruna and their metropolitan areas. The telco said that its 5G FWA deployment will continue to be progressively expanded to another 65 cities in the future.
Rival operator Telefónica’s 5G network currently covers 83% of the Spanish population. Telefonica previously said its 5G network provides coverage in 1,719 towns and cities across Spain.
The telco also noted that nearly 1,700 towns and cities in Spain are covered by its 700MHz 5G service, which had been activated in February 2022.
Meanwhile, Masmovil is currently offering 5G service in 1,660 towns and cities in 51 provinces across Spain for the customers of its Yoigo brand.
According to the operator, 74% of the Spanish’s population is already covered with its 5G network infrastructure. Masmovil also said that it had reached 261 new towns and cities in its latest 5G network 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 to use for 5G services nationwide.
Orange has already deployed its 5G services in 1,844 towns and cities in 52 provinces cross Spain.
According to the European carrier, its 5G network infrastructure reached 78.4% of the Spanish population as of the end of the last quarter of 2022.
Orange Spain expects to reach 11 cities with 5G Standalone (SA) by the end of the year. Orange Spain launched its 5G SA network in February, initially covering parts of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville.
