By Juan Pedro Tomás
Spanish operator Orange is already offering 5G services in 121 towns and cities in 39 provinces across the country, according to local press reports.
Some of the cities covered by Orange’s non-standalone (NSA) 5G network include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Zaragoza, Logroño, Leon, Santander, Salamanca, Valladolid and Pamplona.
Orange had previously said its goal was to offer its 5G services in 93 towns and cities across Spain before the end of 2020.
The operator launched commercial 5G services in Spain in September of 2020, using equipment provided by Swedish vendor Ericsson.
The European carrier is currently offering 5G through spectrum in the 3.6-3.8 MHz band.
The carrier initially launched 5G technology in Madrid and Barcelona with the deployment of Ericsson’s 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) and core products and solutions. Operating on 3.6 GHz spectrum, the 5G network in Madrid and Barcelona is powered by the Ericsson Radio System (Baseband 6648 and AIR 6488 antenna), delivering massive multiple-input multiple-output, which increases network capacity and spectral efficiency.
Ericsson also supplied Orange Spain with a 5G Evolved Packet Core to support 5G New Radio non-standalone (NSA), including control plane, user plane and policy network functions.
Orange said it would launch 5G through the standalone (SA) architecture once the Spanish government makes available spectrum in the 700 MHz band, which is expected to occur in the first months of 2021.
Spain’s largest telco Telefonica’s 5G network already reaches 80 per cent of the country’s population, according to recent Spanish press reports.
The operator’s goal was to provide 5G coverage to 75 per cent of the Spanish population by the end of 2020.
Telefonica currently offers 5G connectivity to approximately 1,300 towns and cities across the Spain.
With the installation of more than 4,000 nodes, all the provincial capitals, the main Spanish cities and small towns in all the autonomous communities have access to Telefónica’s 5G network.
In September, Telefonica had announced the launch of NSA 5G commercial services in the country.
The telco is offering its 5G service through spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and 1.8-2.1 GHz bands.
Telefonica had previously inked commercial deals with European vendors Nokia and Ericsson to supply the equipment and services for its 5G launch.
Telefonica is initially deploying gear from Ericsson to provide 5G in its main urban areas, while Nokia’s equipment will be used for the deployment of 5G in an upcoming phase of the 5G deployment plan. The operator also selected solutions from Juniper Networks for the security of its 5G network infrastructure.
Rival operator Vodafone 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. The carrier had previously said that it was working with Huawei and Ericsson in the deployment of the 5G network.
The telco’s 5G network currently reaches 21 cities across the country.
Meanwhile, Masmovil launched 5G last year and the telco’s network currently provides this technology in 19 Spanish cities.https://www.rcrwireless.com
