Orange Spain has switched on its Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G network in five Spanish cities, following rivals Vodafone and Telefonica. In a statement, the French operator said 5G services will initially be available in a total of five cities – Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Malaga – with more 5G cities to be added in the coming months. It also announced that all residential and business customers in the covered areas with 5G-compatible smartphones will be able to access the new technology at no additional cost via their existing plans.
The launch confirms the operator’s promise to roll out commercial 5G services before the end of the year without waiting for the delayed 700MHz band auction. At the end of July, Orange Spain’s outgoing CEO Laurent Paillassot said the conditions were now in place to take the leap in view of customer interest and the increased presence of compatible handsets.
Like Vodafone and Telefonica, Orange is using 5G NSA networks for the initial rollout rather than 5G SA, with the company making use of its 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3.6-3.8 GHz band to reach around 30 percent of the five launch cities. Orange said 5G coverage in Madrid will be mainly concentrated inside the inner M-30 ring road, while in Barcelona coverage will be mainly to the south of the Diagonal. The central areas of Valencia, Seville and Malaga will also be covered.
Vodafone has already switched on its 5G signal in 21 Spanish cities since June 2019, with Telefonica pledging to reach 75 percent of the Spanish population by the end of the year and Masmovil set to follow with its own 5G launch on Orange's network later this month. All four of Spain's MNOs are expected to bid for frequencies in the 700 MHz band when the government holds its long-delayed spectrum auction in the first quarter of 2021.
