Orange has announced the launch of the 5G Standalone (SA) network, the evolution of the 5G Network in Spain. Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Seville are the first four cities to experience the 5G SA Network, which Orange named 5G+. The 5G SA Network announcement comes at a time when Mobile World Congress 2023 is just a few days away to be happening in Barcelona. The 5G+ Network of Orange is the implementation of a Standalone Network that completes the deployment of the 5G Network.
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Orange 5G+ in Spain
Orange says in the new cities where 5G+ is launched, the coverage will be more than 90%, and Network deployments and expansion will happen throughout 2023. In addition, orange users do not need to pay anything extra to experience 5G+ and just need a compatible handset to use 5G+ Service.
5G+ Supported Smartphones
Orange says that major phone manufacturers already support its 5G+ technology. Orange initially launched 5G+ with the models of the Samsung S22, S22 +, S22 Ultra, Xiaomi 12 and Xiaomi 12T and Xiaomi 12 Pro series, and other models will follow over the coming months.
First in Spain to Launch 5G SA Technology
With this deployment of the 5G+ Network, Orange became the first operator in Spain, the first of the Orange Group and one of the first in Europe to launch 5G SA technology commercially.
Orange Partners for 5G SA and Sustainability Objectives
Orange, in this launch, has Ericsson, Nokia, and Oracle Communications as suppliers for the core 5G Stand Alone (SA) network. The introduction of 5G SA is a significant factor in supporting Orange's sustainability objectives as it is estimated that by 2030, 5G technology will lower the energy consumption required to transmit 1 Gigabyte of data by up to 20 times.
Orange's Commitment to 5G
Orange announced the first voice and data call in Europe with 5G Standalone Technology in April 2019.
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Spectrum Investments
From 2016 to the latest auction in December 2022, Orange has invested a cumulative sum of 531 million euros in securing 5G frequencies across all bands it has participated in. As a result, Orange is the operator with the largest spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band and can offer peak speeds of 1.5 Gbps. Orange also says that the availability of public funds is the key to deploying 5G technologies in rural areas to bridge digital gaps.
