Spanish telco Orange ended 2023 with a total of 2,463 towns and cities covered by its 5G network, according to the telco’s latest available data.
Orange reported that its 5G network currently covers 83.2% of the country’s overall population.
Orange’s 5G Standalone (SA) network currently reaches 32 cities across the country. 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 also noted that it has a total of 32 devices certified to be used on the telco’s 5G SA network.
Ericsson, Nokia and Oracle Communications are the main providers of Orange’s 5G SA network.
In September, the Spanish carrier said that it had nearly 2.2 million customers in the 5G segment, an increase of 70% compared to the previous year.
The Spanish carrier is currently offering 5G services through frequencies in the 3.5 GHz and 700 MHz bands.
In the last spectrum auction, Orange secured 2×10 megahertz in the 700 MHz band, which adds to the 110 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band that it already owns. The company invested a total of 523 million euros ($560 million) in the acquisition of these frequencies.
The operator launched commercial 5G services in Spain in September of 2020, using the 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture.
In 2022, Orange and Masmovil signed a binding agreement to combine their operations in Spain.
The transaction is still subject to approval from antitrust and other regulatory review. The file had 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 that the proposed merger of Orange and MásMóvil 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.
“As a result of this in-depth investigation, the Commission is concerned that the proposed transaction may reduce the number of network operators in Spain, thereby eliminating a significant competitive constraint and innovative rival in the Spanish retail markets for mobile telecommunications services, fixed internet services and multiple- play bundles. The Commission is concerned that this may lead to significant price increases for affected retail customers across the Spanish market,” the European Commission said.
Source: https://www.rcrwireless.com/20240102/carriers/orange-spain-ends-2023-2463-cities-covered-5g