The Spanish operators just secured 700 MHz of spectrum in the auctions that just concluded. Spain's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation has details here and the PDF of final results is here. TelecomTV nicely summarises the results as follows:
Spain’s auction of 700 MHz spectrum for 5G services was concluded in just one day, with the government raising little more than the minimum reserve prices for the blocks snapped up by Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone: The country’s fourth mobile operator, Másmóvil, did not participate.
Orange paid the starting price of €350 million for two blocks of 2x5 MHz spectrum. Vodafone also paid the reserve price of €350 million for its 2x10 MHz of capacity.
Only Telefónica (Movistar) paid above the minimum required: It shelled out €310.089 million for its 2x10 MHz (the starting price for that tranche had been €270 million).
The spectrum licensed can be used for downlink and uplink connectivity, which is what the operators need for their 5G service offerings: The 700 MHz band enables operators to extend the reach of their next-gen mobile networks outdoors (so it is particularly useful for non-urban areas) and to better penetrate buildings with their 5G signals and so is attracting increasing operator investment, with China Mobile having just announced the results of its initial 700 MHz 5G radio access network equipment tender.
In total, then, the Spanish government raised just over €1.01 billion: In the scheme of things that’s not much for the government coffers but it also isn’t sapping the operators of funds that can be used to build out their networks. Three blocks of 5 MHz spectrum that could be used only for downlink connections were not taken up by the operators and have been classified by Spain’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation as “deserted.”
The fourth mobile operator in terms of market share, Masmovil, opted out of the process earlier this month. Players did not bid for any of the 5MHz blocks of non-paired spectrum available and the auction did not reach the 2.1 billion EUR target set by the regulator.
All licences will be valid for a period of 20 years and extendable for a further 20-year period. The operators are obligated to activate 5G services in 450 localities with populations above 50,000 by the end of June 2025, as well as covering the country’s largest airports, train stations and motorways.
This was Spain’s second sale of 5G-suitable spectrum, following an auction covering the 3.6GHz to 3.8GHz bands in 2018. A third and last 5G spectrum auction, this time in the 26GHz band, is planned to take place before the end of the year.
Spain’s telecom market is one of the largest in Europe, supported by a population of more than 46 million. Mobile penetration is on a par with the European average and there remains room for further growth, particularly in the mobile broadband segment which has been supported by continuing investment in infrastructure among operators. With LTE almost universally available, the focus among operators has shifted to services based on 5G. Vodafone Spain was the first operator to launch a 5G network, in June 2019. The other players planned to wait until after the auction of spectrum in the 700MHz band, though the COVID-19 crisis has delayed this to June 2020.
The fixed-line broadband sector has also been backed by investment in fibre infrastructure, enabling providers to develop improved bundled services and to compete more effectively. The regulator has fostered competition by providing access to Telefónica’s DSL and FttP networks, while network sharing agreements have meant that Orange Spain, Vodafone Spain and Másmóvil have become significant operators. By the beginning of 2020 fibre accounted for about 67% of all fixed broadband connections. Telefónica alone expected to provide complete FttP coverage by 2024.
Spain has 4 network operators: Movistar (owned by Telefónica), Vodafone, Orange and Yoigo (with free roaming on Orange and Movistar).The country is all covered by 2G and mostly by 3G up to HSPA+ and DC-HSPA and 4G/LTE in towns. Nationwide the big three providers Movistar, Vodafone and Orange are neck on neck with a similar coverage and market shares. 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 900 and 2100 MHz. Yoigo is a 3G/4G-only network with limited own resources, but free roaming on Orange and Movistar, giving it a very good coverage too.
4G/LTE was launched by all operators in 2013 using 800 (B20), 1800 (B3) and 2600 (B7) MHz frequencies. In 2017 Vodafone had the best 4G/LTE coverage at 96.5% followed by Orange with 91.7%, Movistar and Yoigo at 89% of the population.
5G was started in 2019 by Vodafone and Telefónica on 3500 (n78) in some city areas. So far only Vodafone has made 5G accessible for prepaid users on some plans.
According to Open Signal network tests in 2020 all 4 providers remain very much on par at 89-91% 4G/LTE coverage. Movistar has proven to be the fastest network with 34 Mbit/s on average.
Orange in Spain has expanded its 5G coverage to three new cities after launching the new network technology in September. The new cities covered by Orange’s 5G network are Zaragoza, Logroño and Pamplona, which adds to Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Malaga. Orange also said it expects to launch 5G in 93 towns and cities across Spain before the end of 2020.
Orange has launched commercial 5G services in Spain in September using equipment provided by Ericsson. The European carrier is currently offering this technology through spectrum in the 3.6-3.8MHz band using NSA architecture.
Operating on 3.6GHz spectrum, the 5G network in Madrid and Barcelona is powered by the Ericsson Radio System (Baseband 6648 and AIR 6488 antenna), delivering massive multiple-input multiple-output, which increases network capacity and spectral efficiency.Ericsson also supplied Orange Spain with a 5G Evolved Packet Core to support 5G New Radio non-standalone (NSA), including control plane, user plane and policy network functions.
The Vodafone network has 2G up to EDGE, 3G, 4G/LTE and now on 5G NR up to 1 Gbit/s open for all prepaid tariffs and plans. Meanwhile, it has expanded its 4G/LTE coverage to most areas. In 2019 5G NR started in 15 city centers on 3500 MHz (n78) and has been made accessible on some tariffs.
This was 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.
Movistar by Telefónica is on 2G up to EDGE, 3G up to HSPA+ and 4G/LTE. 5G NR has started but is not available for prepaid so far.
Telefónica is still the incumbent and main landline provider and used to be market leader in Spain, but its prepaid offer was not competitive enough. This changed in 2019 when Movistar finally released affordable prepaid options in promotions.
Telefonica has already activated its 5G network in 640 towns and cities across the country, according to recent press reports. They already provides its 5G service to approximately 42% of the Spanish population. The telco previously said it aims to cover 75% of the population with the new technology by the end of 2020.
In September, the Spanish telco announced the launch of non-standalone (NSA) 5G commercial services in the country. Telefonica’s initial 5G deployment phase included 150 cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, almost all the cities with 30,000, more than 50% of those with 20,000 inhabitants and some with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
The operator is offering its 5G service through spectrum in the 3.5 GHz and 1.8-2.1 GHz bands. Telefónica previously said that it had initially launched 5G services thanks to a technology that combines the deployment of NSA (non-standalone) 5G and DSS (Dynamic Spectrum Sharing). Telefonica said it will launch a standalone (SA) 5G network across Spain once the technology becomes “fully available” after standardization.
Yoigo network operates up to HSPA+, 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz with free roaming on Orange network, giving a good coverage. They claim 85% 4G/LTE coverage on their own, but even more with their free roaming partner.
In 2016 they were sold from Telia to Másmóvil. From 2018 Yoigo customers can roam on Orange networks on 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE for free as well as Yoigo's own antennas giving it a very good coverage in the country.
In September 2020, Masmovil launched its 5G service in 15 cities across Spain 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.
A possible integration between Vodafone Spain and MásMóvil has been reported.
The above picture summarises the total amount of spectrum holding by all Spanish mobile network operators. Movistar is a major telecommunications brand owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and in many Hispanic American countries. Yoigo, legally Xfera Móviles S.A., is the fourth largest mobile network operator in Spain, subsidiary of the Spanish telecommunications company Grupo MásMóvil.
Telefonica, Orange Spain and Vodafone Spain took the spoils in the country’s auction of 200 MHz in 5G-suitable frequencies, which netted authorities more than four times the original asking price. Vodafone Spain won the largest allocation on offer, securing 90 MHz in the 3.7GHz band for €198 million. Telefonica paid €107 million for 50 MHz across the 3.6GHz-3.8GHz bands, while Orange Spain paid around €132 million for 60 MHz also across the frequency range offered. Each operator will pay in annual installments, with the balance accruing interest each year. Including interest, spectrum reservation costs and other previously levied fees related to the auction, the Ministry of Economy and Enterprise said the treasury would earn €1.4 billion from the tender. Spain’s other operator, MasMovil, competed in the auction but didn’t add any further 5G-suitable spectrum to the 80 MHz it obtained earlier this year from two separate deals. The operator acquired 40 MHz from satellite company Eurona and then matched that allocation as part of its acquisition of B2B service provider Neutra Network. The auction total surpassed the €100 million reserve price with ease and MasMovil and Telefonica were quick to note rivals had paid a greater sum for their allocations. In a statement to Mobile World Live MasMovil said it had paid an average of €0.57 million per MHz, while the average in the auction was €2.2 million for the same amount. Telefonica said it “applied criteria of rationality in the auction that has allowed it to obtain the desired spectrum by paying the lowest price per MHz of all the bidders in it.” All licences are valid for 20 years.
Analyst John Delaney notes that Spain's mobile operators paid €438 million for 200 MHz of 5G spectrum while in April, UK operators paid £1.15 billion for 150MHz.
