In February, the Spanish carrier had launched its 5G SA network in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville

Spanish telecom operator Orange has activated its 5G Standalone (SA) network in new cities across Spain.

In February, the Spanish carrier had launched its 5G SA network in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville. At the time of the launch, Orange noted that the coverage of 5G SA in these initial cities exceeded 90%.

According to the company’s website, new cities covered by 5G SA include Bilbao, Alicante, Sabadell, Hospitalet, Castellón, Valladolid, Alcorcón, Leganés, Palma, Zaragoza, Las Palmas, Tenerife, Badalona, Sant Adrià de Besòs and Santa Coloma de Gramanet.

Orange’s 5G SA network is also available in the cities of Cadiz, Huelva, Badajoz, A Coruña, Vigo, Pamplona, Logroño, Málaga, Barakaldo, Jaén and Vitoria, according to a local press report.

Orange said its 5G SA network was expected to cover nearly 30% of the Spanish population by the end of the first half of the year.

Orange also said that Ericsson, Nokia and Oracle Communications were the main providers of its 5G SA network.

The company previously said its overall 5G network reached a coverage of 80% of the Spanish population as of the end of March. The telco ended the first quarter of the year with a total of 1.94 million subscribers in the 5G segment, after a net addition of 258,000 during the period.

The Spanish carrier is currently offering 5G services through frequencies in the 3.5 GHz and 700 MHz bands.

As for 4G, the company ended Q1 with a coverage of 99% of the Spanish population and provides service to over 11 million customers.

Last year, when Orange announced its deployment of 5G in the 700 MHz band, it said it would offer 5G access progressively over the course of 2022 in more than 1,100 towns and cities, 820 of them having between 1,000 and 50,000 citizens.

In the last spectrum auction, Orange secured 2×10 megahertz in the 700 MHz band, which adds to the 110 megahertz in the 3.5 GHz band already owned by Orange.

The operator launched commercial 5G services in Spain in September of 2020, using the 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) architecture.

Last year, Orange and Masmovil signed a binding agreement to combine their operations in Spain. Under the terms of the agreement, the 50-50 joint venture stipulates that both telcos will have equal governance rights in the combined entity. The deal also includes a right to trigger an IPO under certain conditions for both parties after a defined period and, in such a scenario, an option for Orange to take control of the combined entity.

However, The European Commission recently said that the proposed merger of Spanish operators Orange and MásMóvil may reduce competition in the mobile and fixed internet markets.

On April 3, 2023, the European Commission opened an in-depth investigation to assess if the proposed merger would potentially restrict competition in several market segments including mobile telecommunications services, fixed internet access services and multiple-play bundles.

The Commission was notified of the proposed transaction on February 13, 2023. The Commission opened an in-depth investigation in April and now has until September 4 to take a final decision on the proposed transaction.