Movistar initially launched 5G SA in 11 cities across the country
Spanish operator Movistar, which is part of telecom group Telefonica, has launched 5G Standalone (SA) coverage in Spain.
Movistar currently covers a total of 11 cities with 5G SA technology: Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Seville, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Ávila, Segovia, Castellón, El Ferrol and Vigo. The carrier said it expects to have extensive 5G SA coverage in most cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants by the end of this year.
Movistar’s 5G SA network, whose core was provided by Nordic vendors Ericsson and Nokia, operates in the 3.5 GHz band and guarantees browsing speeds of up to 1,600 Mbps. This deployment is complemented by the coverage that telco offers in the 700 MHz band since last year and with which it reaches more than 2,200 municipalities across Spain. The use of both spectrum bands allows Movistar to offer 5G coverage to 85% of the population.
In May, rival operator Orange said it had activated its 5G Standalone network in Bilbao, Alicante, Sabadell, Hospitalet, Castellon and Valladolid. Orange’s 5G SA network was initially offered in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville.
Orange noted that the coverage of 5G SA in these initial cities will exceed 90%, adding that new cities will be covered by this technology during 2023. Ericsson, Nokia and Oracle Communications are the main providers of Orange’s 5G SA network.
Orange recently said its overall 5G network 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.
According to previous reports, Vodafone Spain also expects to launch 5G via SA architecture in 2024. Vodafone is already offering 5G services in Spain using spectrum in the 700 MHz and 3.5 GHz bands.
