The Adif contract with which 5G coverage will be provided to the entire AVE railway network has already been distributed and it has finally been Vodafone and Orange who have distributed this tender, financed with European funds from the Recovery and Resilience plan.
When traveling by train, we do not always have coverage on the way. This is especially annoying, especially in formats as avant-garde as the Spanish High Speed train (AVE), so Adif got down to work to build infrastructures that are capable of providing 5G coverage in 5 high-speed corridors.
Vodafone 5G coverage on the AVE
The red operator has entered into a Temporary Business Union (UTE) with the Spanish Society of Industrial Companies SA (SEMI). In this way, the contract for Lot 3 has been awarded to provide 5G to the Albacete-Alicante and Barcelona-Figueras high-speed routes and these routes will have the best connectivity provided by Vodafone’s fifth-generation network.
The amount of the contract exceeds 25.5 million euros and will have an initial duration of 5 years. The deployment of the necessary infrastructures for the operation of 5G on the AVE will have to be completed before December 2025 and the maintenance in the framework of this contract will last until December 2028. This contract covers from design, construction and installation to maintenance of the 700 and 800 Mhz infrastructures to provide 5G on the routes of the Spanish High Speed.
“The deployment of our 5G network in the Spanish High Speed infrastructures represents a further step in our digitization strategy for the regions in which we operate. Our technology will facilitate the provision of advanced logistics services and a more efficient management of freight and passenger traffic, favoring the ecological transition towards a more sustainable transport”, stated Julia Velasco, director of Vodafone Spain Network and of Core&Services for Europe of the Group. Vodafone.
Orange has also taken some sections
For its part, Orange has also reported that it has been awarded some contracts to deploy this mobile technology. The orange operator has not officially communicated it yet, but knowing how this contest was divided, we can know what the other lots have been.
Orange has kept Lot 1, with which it was bidding with Vodafone. This corresponds to the Plasencia-Cáceres-Badajoz and Antequera-Granada corridors. For its part, it was the only one in the bid for Lot 2, which covers Olmedo-Ourense, so as the only candidacy it will also have been done with it.
Movistar was excluded from the bid
According to published Expansion In March, Movistar was excluded from future 5G networks on high-speed train lines due to a form factor in the information sent to access the contract. Because of this, Adif considered that the operator did not comply with the requirements specified in the bidding documents. Specifically, a formal defect as information had been included in one of the envelopes that could not be included in it.
“The Joint Venture of Telefónica España and Telefónica Móviles has been excluded by Adif Alta Velocidad from the tender to build and operate the 5G networks that will be installed, on behalf of Adif, in five high-speed rail corridors.”
