Masmovil said 77% of the population in Spain is already covered with its 5G network infrastructure
Spanish telecom operator Masmovil is currently offering 5G service in 2,217 towns and cities in 52 provinces across Spain for the customers of its Yoigo brand, the carrier said in a release.
According to the operator, 77% of the Spanish’s population is already covered with its 5G network infrastructure. Masmovil also said that it had reached 151 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.
Some of the provinces in which the carrier provides 5G include Albacete, Alicante, Almería, Asturias, Ávila, Badajoz, Barcelona, Burgos, Castellón, Cáceres, Cádiz, Cantabria, Ceuta, Cordoba, Cuenca, Gipuzkoa, Granada, Girona, Guadalajara, Huelva, Huesca, León, Lleida, Lugo, Madrid, Málaga, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra, Ourense, Palencia, Las Palmas, Pontevedra, La Rioja, Salamanca, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Segovia, Sevilla, Soria, Tarragona, Toledo, Valencia, Valladolid, Zamora and Zaragoza.
The operator said it aims to continue deploying 5G infrastructure in the coming months to expand its current coverage.
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.
The 5G deal between Masmovil and Orange will be valid until 2028 and is extendable for 5 additional years.
Last year, Orange and Masmovil signed a binding agreement to combine their operations in Spain.
The transaction is subject to approval from antitrust and other regulatory review and is expected to close during the second half of 2023. It has already been registered with the European Commission.
Under the terms of the agreement, the 50-50 joint venture stipulates that both telcos will have equal governance rights in the combined entity. The deal 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.
In June, the European Commission said it believed that the proposed merger of Spanish operators may reduce competition in the mobile and fixed internet markets.
On April 3, 2023, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess if the proposed merger would potentially restrict competition in several market segments including mobile telecommunications services, fixed internet access services and multiple-play bundles.
Orange said its 5G Standalone (SA) network reached 38 Spanish cities as of the end of the third quarter.
Orange’s 5G SA network was initially launched in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia and Seville. It currently reaches other important cities such as Alicante, Castellon, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Valladolid and Zaragoza.
Orange noted that the coverage of 5G SA in these initial cities reaches nearly 80%.
Ericsson, Nokia and Oracle Communications are the main providers of Orange’s 5G SA network.
The telco also said it ended Q3 with 2.50 million subscribers in the 5G segment, after a net addition of 328,000 subscribers in the quarter. Over the last twelve months, the carrier added over 1 million 5G customers.
Orange also said its overall 5G network reached a coverage of 83.2% of the Spanish population as of the end of September.
