Telefónica also plans to expand 4G coverage in Spain and Latin American markets
MADRID – Spanish telecommunications giant Telefónica expects its fiber-to-the-home network to reach 2.4 million new homes in the Spanish market this year, the company’s global CTO Enrique Blanco told RCR Wireless News in an exclusive interview.
Last year, Telefónica passed nearly 400,000 homes with FTTH technology in Spain every month, for a total of approximately 4 million new homes passed. “By the end of this year, we will have nearly 16 million homes passed with FTTH in Spain,” Blanco added.
The company decided to start deploying FTTH technology in the Spanish market seven years ago, he said. “In the next five years, we believe that all our customers will be served through fiber.”
The deployment of FTTH in the Spanish market and other markets in Latin America is one of the key priorities for the company, Blanco said.
The executive also said that Telefónica has signed several agreements with infrastructure vendors for the deployment of FTTH technology, including gigabit passive optical networks and XGS-PON.
“We do not have more than two vendors for the deployment of FTTH in each country where we operate. In Spain we currently have two vendors,” Blanco said. “We are certifying the technology offered by [Chinese vendor] ZTE and we are currently defining which will be the new countries in which we will deploy FTTH.”
Another key focus area for Telefonica, he said, is to continue investing in the deployment of 4G LTE technology in Spain and Latin America.
“At this time, one of our main priorities is to complete deployments of 4G technology. In Spain, our 4G network currently has a coverage of approximately 85%, while in certain Latin American markets the coverage of our 4G network goes beyond 50%,” Blanco said. “We are offering our customers additional capabilities in terms of access, and we are doing this with enhanced backhaul and core infrastructure.”
