Spain’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (Ministerio de Asuntos Economicos y Transformacion Digital) has announced the official launch of an EUR544 million (USD577 million) funding call for its UNICO-5G Redes Activas programme, which seeks to boost 5G coverage in rural areas across the country. The Official State Gazette published the call for aid on 10 October 2023 to deploy the necessary equipment for 5G Standalone (SA) services in municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. The funding for the programme is financed with Next Generation EU European funds within the framework of the Recovery Plan and the Digital Spain 2026 agenda, as the Spanish government works to reduce the digital divide between urban and rural areas.

The press release noted that the government’s intention ‘is for the country to have this disruptive technologydevelop the capabilities that 5G will allow as an economic and social transformative element’. It went on to note: ‘With this objective, programmes have been launched that cover all phases of development of these new mobile communication technologies in Spain. The aid programmes that cover the deployment of infrastructure (UNICO 5G Backhaul and UNICO 5G ACTIVAS), the development of pilot projects – through Red.es – and use cases, the integration of technology in industrial value chains (UNICO 5G Sectorial) and basic research and innovation in the following technological generations (UNICO R&D 5G advanced and 6G) … Spain has been one of the first countries in the Europeanto have completed the allocation of the entire 5G spectrum, in addition to having dedicated 450MHz for self-provision and industrial use. Caps have also been increased to allow operators to better manage increases in traffic.’

According to a report from newspaper El Pais, in each province, the successful company will be eligible for 100% of the funding if they are the sole bidder and up to 75% if not. It is understood that the government targets minimum data speeds of 100Mbps/5Mbps (down/uplink) and that the networks must come online by February 2026. The maximum cap on operators has also been set at 30 provinces, with the call remaining open for bids until 31 October 2023.