Telefonica Espana (Movistar) has thrown down the gauntlet to its main rivals, by significantly increasing the speed it deployed 5G base transceiver stations (BTS) in the 3.5GHz band in the first three months of this year. Indeed, as a result of its efforts the company reportedly installed 60.5% of new 5G antennas in that period compared to 23.0% achieved by Vodafone or just 16.5% by Orange Espana.
In total volume terms, at 31 December 2022 Orange had been leading the way with 1,162 5G BTS on air in Spain, compared to 687 for Movistar, 534 for Vodafone and just 129 for Grupo MASMOVIL (which ostensibly uses Orange’s radio access network rather than its own equipment). However, by 31 March 2023 the situation had changed dramatically with Movistar now reporting 1,952 5G BTS in service, ahead of Orange (1,516), Vodafone (1,023) and MASMOVIL (131).
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