A NEW 5G rollout is underway in Spain in a bid to boost internet coverage in rural areas.
The scheme, named 5G Very Rural Networks, targets 5,000 areas across the entire country, home to a population of approximately 20,000 people.
Helmed by the Ministry for Digital Transformation, the programme specifically targets so-called ‘dead zones’ which have no 5G or 4G networks.
The initiative will see four major telecom companies – Telefonica, MasOrange, Vodafone and Digi – building new 5G and fiber-optic towers throughout the country.
However, whichever company is given the grant for a given area must share their towers and equipment with competitors, so all customers have coverage and no single company can monopolise publicly funded 5G networks.
The project is estimated to cost €30 million and will be funded by the European Regional Development Funds.
It will therefore come at a fraction of the cost of the previous initiative, UNICO Active Networks, which cost a huge €669 million euros and brought 5G to rural areas with less than 10,000 residents in 2024.
This project brought 5G coverage to 1.8 million Spaniards and played a key role in connecting rural areas, helping close the ‘digital divide’ that left rural communities with far less coverage than in urban areas.
Although still in the early planning stages, construction is expected to start at the end of this year, with completion scheduled for 2029.
By 2029, this programme will help Spain achieve one of Europe’s largest mobile networks, bridging gaps in hard-to-reach areas and delivering reliable internet infrastructure nationwide.
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