5G

5G is the name of the new generation of mobile technology, which significantly improves the performance (bandwidth, latency, capacity of connected devices) of Internet access in mobility compared to previous generations. Its special characteristics make it a key piece for accelerating the digital transformation of society and the economy.

5G networks and services are not just a new generation of mobile technology, but will allow the development of new services that will benefit the economy and society as a whole. The ability to manage millions of devices in real time of 5G networks is an essential element for the development of services that until now were not within our reach such as intelligent manufacturing in distributed manufacturing environments, remote control of devices in real time that will facilitate the connected car and later the autonomous car, as well as intelligent management of transport and energy resources. In addition, 5G will allow the expansion of broadband coverage at high speeds in rural and isolated areas of the Spanish territory, contributing to the reduction of the digital divide and the availability of digital public services throughout our geography.

The transversal impact of 5G technology is reflected in various studies published in recent years. In our immediate environment, the European Commission’s analyses forecast that the estimated benefits of introducing 5G in four production sectors (automotive, health, transport and utilities) would increase progressively to reach 62.5 billion euros of direct annual impact within the European Union in 2025, which would rise to 113 billion euros adding up the indirect impacts. The same study estimates that in our country indirect benefits in the 4 sectors analyzed of 14.6 billion euros and significant job creation would be obtained.

5G networks will facilitate:

• Mobile broadband of very high speed and capacity, with speeds in mobility greater than 100 Mbit/s and peaks of 1 Gbit/s.
• Ultra-reliable and low-latency communications, around 1 millisecond (ms) versus 20-30 ms typical of 4G networks. This condition could make them suitable for applications that have specific requirements in this area, such as connected or autonomous vehicles, telemedicine services, security systems and others such as intelligent manufacturing.
• Massive machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, including the Internet of Things (IoT). The capacity to manage simultaneous connections will be increased, which will allow, among other things, the massive deployment of sensors.

New capabilities of 5G technology

• Increased bandwidth in mobility
• High density of connected devices
• Network Computing Resources
• Real-time communication
• Virtualization of network infrastructures

The Secretary of State for Digital Advancement has developed the 5G Plan for the period 2018-2020 as a key lever of the 4.0 ecosystems framed within the “Digital Strategy for an Intelligent Spain”. In addition, it aims to promote an early implementation of 5G networks in Spain and the development of R+D+I in this area.

Action by the Government

The Government of Spain works to promote the deployment of networks and development of 5G technologies through three main lines of action, as established in the Plan 5G:

• Establish the regulatory framework on which the telecommunications of the future will be developed. In June 2019, the new one was approved National Technical Plan for DTT, which regulates the main aspects of the release of the 700 MHz band (second digital dividend).
• enabling and tendering a portion of the radio spectrum for these technologies.
  • The 3.6-3.8 GHz band was tendered in July 2018.
  • The 700 MHz band will be tendered in 2020.
• Support the realization of experiences through pilot projects with the concession of direct economic support.

In addition, in 2018 the National 5G Observatory was launched, an initiative led by the Secretary of State for Digital Advancement, the public business entity RED.es and the MWCapital foundation.

5G roadmap in Spain