YOU ARE AT:5GMasmovil's 5G network reaches 686 towns and cities across Spain

Masmovil’s 5G network reaches 686 towns and cities across Spain

Masomovil is using 80 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band

Spanish telecom operator Masmovil is currently offering 5G service in 686 towns and cities in 40 provinces across Spain for the customers of its Yoigo brand, the company said in a release.

According to the telco, 54% of the country’s population is already covered with its 5G network infrastructure.

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 for the provision of 5G.

Some of the provinces in which the carrier provides 5G include Alicante, Almería, Asturias, Ávila, Barcelona, Cádiz, Cantabria, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Huesca, León, Lugo, Madrid, Málaga, Melilla, Murcia, Navarra, Ourense, Las Palmas, Pontevedra, La Rioja, Salamanca, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Sevilla, Valencia, Valladolid, Zamora and Zaragoza. Since September, the telco expanded its 5G infrastructure in 133 cities across Spain.

The operator also said it aims to continue deploying 5G infrastructure in the coming months to expand its current coverage. The telco also noted that its 5G portfolio already includes over 30 devices.

In October 2019, Masmovil signed an agreement with Orange Spain covering mobile, fiber and broadband technologies. The deal gives Masmovil access to Orange Spain’s entire 5G network thanks to a “virtual active sharing mode” agreement, enabling it to deploy 5G in 4,500 locations that cover 35% of the Spanish population in 40 main cities including Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Malaga and Bilbao. Orange will deploy a total of 1,500 new sites through the end of 2021 in Spain.

The 5G deal between Masmovil and Orange will be valid until 2028 and is extendable for 5 additional years.

Rival Orange is already offering 5G services in 787 towns and cities in 38 provinces across the country. According to the European operator, its 5G network infrastructure already reaches 52% of the Spanish population.

Orange had said it expects its 5G network to reach 90% of the Spanish population by the end of 2022.

Orange is currently offering 5G in the country through a combination of non-standalone (NSA) 5G and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) technologies. The operator launched commercial 5G services in Spain in September of 2020, using equipment provided by Swedish vendor Ericsson.

Meanwhile, Telefónica previously said it has extended the coverage of its 5G network to over 80% of the country’s population as of the end of the first quarter of 2021, having installed more than 4,300 nodes that offer coverage to more than 37 million inhabitants.

The telco said that its 5G network reached 1,253 towns and cities across Spain. The company launched its 5G service in September 2020.

Vodafone had launched Spain’s first commercial 5G network in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Vitoria, San Sebastian, La Coruna, Vigo, Gijon, Pamplona, Logrono and Santander in June 2019. It has also carried out more than 130 use cases over the 5G network in fields such as smart cities, agriculture, health and tourism with the collaboration some 30 partners.

ABOUT AUTHOR

Juan Pedro Tomás
Juan Pedro Tomás
Juan Pedro covers Global Carriers and Global Enterprise IoT. Prior to RCR, Juan Pedro worked for Business News Americas, covering telecoms and IT news in the Latin American markets. He also worked for Telecompaper as their Regional Editor for Latin America and Asia/Pacific. Juan Pedro has also contributed to Latin Trade magazine as the publication's correspondent in Argentina and with political risk consultancy firm Exclusive Analysis, writing reports and providing political and economic information from certain Latin American markets. He has a degree in International Relations and a master in Journalism and is married with two kids.