Telefonica (Movistar), Vodafone and Orange have set up a so-called Temporary Union of Enterprises (UTE) in a bid to secure the EUR 4.32 billion of public funds made available to bring 4G and 5G services to underserved areas throughout Spain by 2025. Business daily Expansion said the three operators have already informed the Ministry of Economy of the agreement covering mobile networks alone, with a view to reaching the government’s stated objective of bringing internet at speeds of at least 30 Mbps to 100 percent of the Spanish population by 2023, rising to 100 Mbps by 2025.
In total, between 3,000 and 4,500 new 4G and 5G sites will be required, some 15 to 23 percent more than the current figure, said the report. The proposed EUR 4.32 billion of public aid includes EUR 900 million of EU funds already made available for 2021, the majority of which – some EUR 760 million – will come from the European package of funds allocated to Spain's autonomous communities to accelerate the digitisation of institutions and businesses.
