In February, Orange had launched its 5G StandAlone (SA) in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville
Spanish operator Orange said its 5G network had reached a coverage of 80% of the Spanish population as of the end of March.
The telco ended the first quarter of the year with a total of 1.94 million subscribers in the 5G segment, after a net addition of 258,000 during the period.
Orange Spain is currently offering 5G services through frequencies in the 3.5 GHz and 700 MHz bands.
In the last spectrum auction, Orange secured 2×10 megahertz in the 700 MHz band, which adds to the 110 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band it already owned. The company invested a total of 523 million euros (currently $578 million) in the acquisition of these frequencies.
The operator had initially launched commercial 5G services in Spain in September of 2020, using NonStandalone (NSA) architecture.
In February, Orange launched its 5G StandAlone (SA) in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, with coverage of more than 90% in those cities. Orange said that it has recently launched 5G SA in Bilbao and expects to launch in new cities during 2023.
As for 4G, the company ended March with a coverage of 99% of the Spanish population and provides service to over 11 million customers.
In July last year, Orange and rival operator Masmovil had signed a binding agreement to combine their operations in Spain. The telcos had started negotiations in March 2022. The transaction is based on an enterprise value of 18.6 billion euros.
Under the terms of the deal, the 50-50 joint venture stipulates that both operators will have equal governance rights in the combined entity. The agreement also includes a right to trigger an IPO under certain conditions for both parties after a defined period and, in such a scenario, an option for Orange to take control of the combined entity.
The operators noted that the new entity would lead to significant efficiency gains, allowing the combined company to accelerate investments in FTTH and 5G technologies.
Earlier this month, the European Commission confirmed it has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed merger by Orange and MasMovil. In a statement, the European body noted that it is concerned that the transaction may reduce competition in the domestic mobile and fixed broadband market.
The commission initially found that the transaction “would reduce the number of network operators in Spain, thereby eliminating an innovative and significant rival.” The body also noted that this could lead to higher prices and lower quality of telecom services for customers.
The commission said it will now carry out an in-depth investigation into the effects of the proposed transaction to determine whether its initial competition concerns are confirmed.
