5G Coverage in Portugal has Increased Significantly

Portugal has a well-developed mobile network. Population coverage by 3G infrastructure is universal, much of the country have access to 4G and 4G+ connectivity. This includes the island communities of Madeira and the Azores. Furthermore, 5G is increasingly available in Portugal, although for now, this is limited to the largest cities.   

Despite its relatively small size, the Portuguese mobile phone market is an increasingly competitive place. There are three network operators to choose from: MEO, Vodafone, and NOS. 

When it comes to subscribers, MEO leads the way with around 42% of the market share. Operated by the former state-controlled Altice Portugal, MEO has historically been dominant in the Portuguese market. However, other operators, such as Vodafone (30%) and NOS (24%), are closing the gap.

Good detail on 5G base station deployments. In Q4 the total 5G base station count of 5,842 increased 35%. Nearly 40% of sites have 5G equipment installed, ranging quite significantly from 21% at MEO and 31% at Vodafone to 70% at NOS. https://t.co/IijK1rk8C3

— Phil Kendall (@philkendall) February 7, 2023

In the most recent Open Signal report all three operators performed very well, although NOS did best with three outright wins (Download Speed Experience, Excellent Consistent Quality and Core Consistent Quality) and 11 shared victories. 

Market leader MEO  owned by Altice Portugal launched its 5G network on January 1 2022. 5G is now available in all district capitals. The operator also says its 4G network now covers 99.7% of Portugal’s population. 

Earlier this year the National Communications Authority (Anacom) imposed a fine of 2.5 million euros on MEO, Altice Portugal, for "violation of the rules applicable to the termination of contracts".

NOS is the smallest operator in terms of subscribers but is quickly gaining ground due to its excellent coverage and services. 

As of April 2023 their 5G network covered 88% of the population, with 3,441 base stations reinforcing its market leadership in the technology.

Vodafone  the second largest operator acquired Nowo which had been the fourth operator  in Portugal, last year. Vodafone also recently signed European solar power purchase agreements with Iberdrola to deliver clean energy for Vodafone customers in Germany, Portugal and Spain. For Vodafone Portugal, the power purchase agreements (PPA) will provide the energy from the newly built Velilla solar photovoltaic (PV) plant located in Palencia, Spain.

Related Posts:

• Operator Watch Blog - Portugal: Demystifying 5G
• Operator Watch Blog - NOS: How 5G will enable a Digital Society
• Operator Watch Blog: NOS, Portugal demonstrates 5G for Smart Cities
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Vodafone Portugal's “streetlamp”
• Telecoms Infrastructure Blog: Omniflow Smart Street Lighting for 5G and IoT 

How 5G will enable a Digital Society

At the 2021 Joint EuCNC (European Conference on Networks and Communications) & 6G Summit, Manuel Ramalho Eanes, Executive Board Member, NOS SGPS, Portugal talked about "How 5G will enable a Digital Society". NOS is the largest communications and entertainment group in Portugal. It offers state-of-the-art fixed and mobile solutions to all market segments, supported by the most advanced technologies. In 2020, NOS was the largest private Portuguese R&D investor, reflecting a strong commitment to innovation and technological development, which is part of NOS DNA since day one. The following is the abstract of the talk:

In this context, we look at 5G not only as our main strategic pillar but as an important catalyst for the upcoming industrial revolution, which promises to change the way we live, how companies work and how societies govern themselves. The disruption that 5G contains, more than the direct extrapolation of its characteristics, envolves all the adjacent technologies that it drives. Without the latency, reliability, resilience, speed and performance of 5G, these technologies would never be scalable. In this sense, 5G is the accelerator of a digital society marked by immersive experiences, autonomous and collaborative mechanisms, massive exchanges of information, artificial intelligence and sensing of the physical world.

To seize this opportunity, it is therefore necessary to work in a network, fostering comprehensive and complementary ecosystems, with a great focus on experimentation, but also on the real value for the economy. That’s how we started our path to 5G at NOS. By creating agile teams, with employees from multiple departments, but working close to various partners, ensuring the adaptation of technology to each business, in different contexts. In this sense, we believe that we are at the forefront of technology implementation, actively contributing to the construction of smart cities and the development of society 5.0. As an engine of transformation in Portugal and always embracing the future, NOS wants to inspire and mobilize everyone to conquer new possibilities, in a country and culture that has the fundamental requirements to incubate the ideas and initiatives that will transform the world.

Here is the video of the talk:

Related Posts: 

• Operator Watch Blog - Portugal: Demystifying 5G
• Operator Watch Blog: NOS, Portugal demonstrates 5G for Smart Cities 

Portugal: Demystifying 5G

The mobile market is dominated by the incumbent Portugal Telecom, owned by Altice Group and operating as Meo, followed by Vodafone and NOS.

2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G is on 2100 MHz with MEO and NOS and on 900 MHz with Vodafone. 4G/LTE was launched in 2012 on all three networks on the 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz bands. It already reaches the majority of population and is open for prepaid on all network providers.

MEO now owned by Dutch Altice Group is the market leader with a 40% share. However the market share held by Meo has fallen steadily in recent years. Altice Labs began working with Ericsson to develop 5G services and applications in 2017.

They recently hosted an event (see video below) which was staged using an experimental network, in collaboration with Ericsson, and simulated a car crash to demonstrate how 5G’s lower latency, higher bandwidth and faster speeds can support emergency workers.

This demonstrated how 5G can support drone footage from accident sites and the delivery of vital information about victims and their condition in real-time.This event also marked the launch of the 5G experimental network for the City of Aveiro, which is aiming to be fully covered by 5G by 2020.

Altice Labs insist technology has no meaning if it is not for improving people's lives and they wish want to demystify 5G. The intense deployment of fibre optics and the modernisation of base stations in recent years across the country puts Meo in a more comfortable position in the evolution to 5G.

 


Vodafone Portugal is the major competitor of MEO in the country with a 33% share and according to Open Signal the best coverage and highest speeds on both 3G and 4G. It lets prepaid customers join their 4G network as part as an ongoing promotion for free. Also on top of 2100 MHz they also have 3G on 900 MHz allowing for better indoor coverage which is rare in Europe and not carried by all devices.

NOS, previously called Optimus, has the smallest network with a 20% share, but still gives a good performance.Vodafone and NOS recently signed an agreement to share fibre infrastructure, which pushed Vodafone’s addressable market to some four million premises. As a result of these efforts DSL is no longer the dominant platform for broadband access.



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• NOS, Portugal demonstrates 5G for Smart Cities

NOS, Portugal demonstrates 5G for Smart Cities

NOS did a live demonstration of 5G at Portugal Smart Cities Summit. According to NOS LinkedIn company page (using Google translate):

NOS announces today the company's solutions to meet the challenges of digital transformation of cities and marks the event with the first demonstration supported in 5G Second, Manuel Ramalho Eanes, executive director of NOS: "With the NOS tomorrow's super cities are already being built today. All the partnerships we have been doing (...) aim to leave the municipalities already prepared for the potential of the new mobile generation. The 5G will be a key enabler in building 5.0 partnerships, where machines will be at the service of citizens. "

According to Telecom Paper:

Portuguese operator Nos is conducting a live 5G demonstration at the Portugal Smart Cities Summit in partnership with Huawei. The demo is focused on remote driving of vehicles, simulating a safety and emergency situation. 

Nos said the demonstration will show the difference the new generation of mobile communications brings in terms of response time (latency). It will also illustrate the application of technology in the field of safety in the community, with a view to future response capacity and autonomy of emergency prevention and combat services. In order to conduct the 5G demo, Nos requested from Anacom spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band.

According to PortugalResident:

It was a simulation of an emergency situation where vehicles had to be action “from a distance”.

Various reports have explained how NOS regularly tests its developing technology and has “absolute faith” in its Huawei partners.

“International concerns” are not going to do away with 18 months of work and investment within the company, said Ramalho Eanes, stressing that aside from its partnership with Huawei, NOS is “working with Nokia to ensure the availability to the Portuguese market of 5G masts and technology”.

Yesterday’s test event involved a Huawei mast being installed at the corner of FIL’s Pavilion 1.

“In the middle of the pavilion were two driving simulators with virtual reality goggles”, explains Observador.

Operators were able to show how, with 5G, its possible to control emergency vehicles, like fire engines, from a distance.

Granted, the speeds at which these vehicles travel do not exceed 20 km/ h yet, but the advantages, in terms of removing the risks to humans in hostile environments were highlighted.

NOS is not revealing for now how much it has invested in 5G, but Ramalho Eanes stressed the company’s commitment to rolling out the network in partnership with Huawei.

According to Algarve for explorers:

Portugal on the Smart Cities Summit in Lisbon NOS is in the process of being presented in five major themed areas: the environment, energy, waste, mobility and security. Installed in the data centers of the communication group's solutions are already being implemented in test communities, according to NOS. According to these figures, in the areas of energy efficiency in buildings, smart street lighting, remote management of water supply networks, weather-dependent irrigation in parks and gardens, waste management, smart parking, vehicle fleet management, reporting and event organization.

During the three-day event in Lisbon NOS representatives wanted to discuss the issue of cyber security and resource efficiency and other issues, according to the press release. Since Huawei's participation is likely to be one of the hotter iron.


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