Orange and Telefónica to Share €17.45 Million for 5G Deployment in Rural Spain

Image: Illustrative image · M.Peinado · CC BY 2.0 · Source

Spain's Ministry of Digital Transformation provisionally approved €17.45 million in subsidies to Orange and Telefónica for 5G rollout in isolated rural areas lacking coverage.

The Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration has provisionally approved a funding plan to expand 5G connectivity in underserved rural areas across Spain. Through the 5G Very Rural Networks program, a total of €17.45 million in public subsidies will be allocated to deploy 5G infrastructure in currently coverage-void locations.

Under this initiative, which aims to bridge the digital divide in low-density regions, two operators—Orange España and Telefónica Móviles España—were the sole applicants. Orange secured over 70% of the funds, receiving approximately €12.24 million for 82 sites covering 220 zones, while Telefónica obtained about €5.21 million for 47 sites and 138 zones. In total, the funding will support 129 infrastructure locations within 358 separate rural zones spread across roughly 110 municipalities.

The program is largely financed by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and targets "white zones"—areas without existing 4G or 5G signals and no planned commercial deployments within the next three years. Subsidies cover the costs of active equipment and supporting infrastructure necessary for 5G mobile services.

Regionally, Galicia will receive the largest investment exceeding €4.83 million, followed by the Canary Islands with €3.48 million, Castilla-La Mancha at €3.38 million, and Murcia around €2.22 million. The distribution of funds reflects each operator’s proposed deployments, with certain autonomous communities like Castilla y León and Extremadura exclusively benefitting Telefónica.

This provisional resolution was announced on October 23, 2026. From the official notification date, the operators have 10 working days to accept the subsidy, present claims, or withdraw via electronic submission. If no objections arise, the proposal will become definitive, enabling Orange and Telefónica to advance their plans to bring 5G to Spain’s most isolated rural communities, in alignment with national cohesion and digital inclusion policies.