MásMóvil collaborates with Orange to expand its 5G network in Spain
Spanish Telecom operator MásMóvil is expected to launch 5G in five major cities in Spain by the week of September 7, 2020, according to Spanish Network Expansión. MásMóvil will be the third Spanish Telecom operator to provide a 5G network for its customers. Vodafone already launched 5G operations last year. Téléfonica has yet to announce 5G deployment plans.
The Spanish operator has signed an agreement with Orange aiming to provide 20% of the population in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville with high-speed internet, according to RCR Wireless. The 5G technology would be deployed through a network of 200 base stations. The agreement will be valid until 2028 and can be extended until 2033.
Moreover, the Italian Telecom operator aims to launch its own standalone 5G network with an 80 MHz spectrum in the 3.4 GHz – 3.8 GHz band. In fact, MásMóvil was waiting for the government to reorder the frequencies in this band. However, this will not happen until the third quarter of2020, according to Expansión.
Back in September 2019, Orange selected Chinese vendor ZTE for the deployment of 5G infrastructure in the cities of Bilbao, San Sebastián, Vitoria, Logroño, and Zaragoza. This agreement might put the operator in a difficult situation as the Chinese telecom giant Huawei has 50% of Orange’s 5G network deployment. Spain has been facing political pressures following US sanctions on Huawei.
MásMóvil already signed an agreement with Orange in 2019.This partnership is aimed at facilitating the deployment of 5G technology in 4500 locations. The telecommunication company was able to secure a high-speed internet for 35% of the population in 40 major cities.
Meinrad Spenger, CEO of MásMóvil said: “This new agreement will allow us to finalize the development of a unique model in Europe for the construction of our own high-speed networks of the fourth operator in the most efficient possible way. In addition, together with the good commercial and financial progress recorded by MásMóvil in the first half of the year, we have substantially improved our guidance,” according to RCR Wireless.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, MásMóvil registered significant growth in both fixed and mobile broadband, states GlobeNewswire. The company registered a 36% increase in its net income reaching €73 million in the first half of the year. “We continue to maintain our good business momentum with sustained growth in our main operating and financial parameters despite the Covid-19 crisis”, said Meinrad Spenger, CEO of MásMóvil.