Spanish operators have been accelerating 5G deployment plans over the last few months, and all carriers already offer 5G in the country’s main urban areas as well as in medium-sized cities. Vodafone’s 5G network is the fastest on the Spanish market, with Movistar being the slowest available. More information about 5G in Spain can be found below.

A report from consultancy firm Ookla reveals that Vodafone offers a download speed of 232 Mbps and an upload speed of 37 Mbps. Orange is second with 167 Mbps and 22 Mbps, respectively. Yoigo, owned by MásMóvil, is in third place with 148 Mbps and 21 Mbps, respectively

The tests, conducted in Madrid in the last quarter of 2020 with an iPhone 12, show that Movistar is the telco with the worst 5G coverage, with speeds of 104 Mbps (download) and 16 Mbps (upload).

Vodafone is using the 3.5 GHz frequency band to get the best results, with 90 MHz of spectrum; Orange is using the same band but with 60 Mhz, whereas Movistar uses that band with 50 MHz in combination with the DSS network with 4G.

The news comes at a time when the Spanish government is set to launch the 5G auction to award the licenses to the operators.

5G is already deployed in some parts (sometimes up to 50%) of over thirty cities, but barely at all in the countryside. The four main mobile communications operators are offering this service: (Telefónica Movistar, Vodafone, Orange and Yoigo). Telefónica Movistar has promised to cover 75% of the population by the end of 2020. Most are using the 3.7 GHz spectrum band and the NSA (non-standalone standard), which is poorer quality than the SA standalone standard.

Vodafone

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.

Orange

Orange is already offering 5G services in 45 cities across Spain.

Some of the cities covered by Orange’s non-standalone (NSA) 5G network include Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga, Zaragoza, Logroño and Pamplona.

Masmovil

In September, Masmovil launched its 5G services for the customers of its Yoigo brand. The carrier said that the 5G service is being offered via a combination of own infrastructure and an agreement with rival operator Orange.

The 5G service is being provided in Alicante, Alcobendas, Almería, Ávila, Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Huesca, Jaén, Madrid, Málaga, Melilla, Orense, Salamanca, Sevilla and Valencia.

Spain aims for full 5G coverage by 2025, with continued investment in rural and underserved areas through government and private funding.