Communication (Spanish market)

2025: Massive Mobile Outage

May 20, 2025 in Spain there was a large-scale malfunction of mobile communications. The failure affected the work of operators such as Movistar, Orange, Vodafone, Digimobil, O2. Their subscribers report no signal and problems with the Internet.

According to Elpais, the failure began at about two in the morning and led to the disconnection of landline and mobile communications in several regions of the country, including Aragon, Andalusia and Valencia. According to the Downdetector portal, most complaints (72%) concerned a complete lack of communication services, 18% of users reported a lack of signal, and 10% reported a total failure in their region.

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Фото: Unsplash

Telefónica director of operations Sergio Sanchez said the incident was caused by a failed network upgrade. The company immediately began troubleshooting and by 10:30 a.m. fully re-established communication with emergency services, although some organizations continued to have problems with landline communications.

The disruptions affected the operation of emergency line 112 in several autonomous communities in Spain, including Extremadura and the Basque Country. Regional authorities had to use social networks to inform the population about temporary alternative numbers.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation and Civil Service of Spain said that the agency "monitors the situation, requests accurate information and the timing of the solution to the problem." Representatives of the ministry interact with the operator to promptly restore all services.

According to preliminary data, the incident was related to the disconnection of the Telefónica data switching network (MPLS), serving line 112 and other three-digit emergency numbers. By early evening, the company reported on the complete restoration of all services in the country.

A Telefónica spokesman said the company had carried out network updates that affected the operation of individual services in a number of organizations. According to him, experts are already engaged in eliminating the problem that has arisen. He also noted that the operator's mobile services remained stable throughout the morning, despite interruptions in stationary communications.^[1]

2024: Orange Espana and Masmovil Ibercom merge into Spain's biggest telecom operator worth €18.6 billion

On February 20, 2024, the European Commission approved a deal to merge the Spanish division of French telecom operator Orange SA and Masmovil Ibercom SA. As a result, the largest telecom operator in Spain with a capitalization of approximately €18.6 billion will be formed. Read more here.

2023: Vodafone sells Spanish business for €5bn

On October 31, 2023, it became known that the Vodafone operator sells 100% of its Spanish company Vodafone Spain, considered a problem asset, to a British telecom investment firm called Zegona Communications. The transaction amount will be $5.3 billion (5 billion euros). Read more here.

2021: 5G frequencies in Spain sold out for €1 billion

In July 2021, an auction was held in Spain, at which frequencies for 5G networks were sold. It passed in one day. The government bailed out frequencies slightly more than the minimum initial cost. Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone bought the assets, and the country's fourth-largest mobile operator, Másmóvil, did not take part in the auction.

Orange paid an initial cost of €350 million two blocks of frequencies 2x5 MHz. Vodafone also paid €350 million for its 2x10 MHz. Telefónica alone paid more than the required minimum of €310 million for 2x10 MHz, and the starting price of this lot was €270 million.

Licensed frequencies can be used for downlink and uplink, which is necessary for operators to provide 5G services. The 700 MHz range allows operators to expand the reach of their next-generation mobile networks outdoors, so it is especially useful for areas located in dal from cities and the technology is attracting more and more investment from operators.

5G frequencies in Spain sold out for €1 billion, assets bought Orange, Vodafone, Telefónica

In general, the Spanish government attracted just over €1 billion. In general, this is not so much for the state treasury, but it also does not deprive operators of funds that can be used to build their networks. 3 blocks of spectrum over 5 MHz, which could only be used for downstream connections, were not occupied by operators and were classified by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation as abandoned.

Initially, the government set the total amount of lots at €1.17 billion for the 700 MHz frequency, but after pressure from operators, the government reduced initial prices to €995.5 million, and also increased the potential validity of licenses from 20 to 40 years without additional payment, subject to the fulfillment of licensing obligations under the agreement.

Orange noted in this statement that its investment in frequencies confirms a strong commitment to the spread of the technology in Spain. Thus, the company consolidates as the operator with the highest number of frequencies in 2 priority bands for the deployment of 5G technology, it is also taken into account that the operator also has 110 MHz in the 3.5 GHz (3.4-3.8 GHz) range. The company invested a total of €523 million in the purchase of these frequencies.

Vodafone Spain CEO, Colman Deegan, noted that the operator welcomed the improved conditions proposed by the government for this frequency auction, which represents an important step towards achieving the sustainable, economically viable range needed to continue investments in communications. The new 5G frequencies acquired on July 22, 2021 will allow Vodafone Spain to accelerate the deployment of the leading 5G network by November 2021, thereby ensuring that consumers and businesses can take advantage of digital transformation opportunities to support economic recovery after the pandemic.

Telefónica noted that the purchased 700 MHz frequencies will allow it to deploy wide coverage, increase indoor penetration and improve some 5G communication characteristics, such as low latency.

Spain's Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation said it was the third frequency auction for 5G networks held in the country, after a 3.6-3.8 GHz band auction held in 2018 and a 20 MHz auction in the same band in February 2021.^[2]

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