According to data collected by the CNMC, 62% of the construction of new fibre network deployments has been carried out by alternative operators, such as Digi, which are playing an increasingly important role in the sector.
He telecom sector has always been characterised by its great dynamism. The last few months are the best example of this: after the merger between Orange and MásMóvil and the recent purchase of Vodafone Spain by Zegona.
Now, we have also been able to learn how alternative operators, such as Digi, have been increasing their role in terms of new fibre accesses. According to data collected by the CNMC, 62% of new fibre in Spain has been deployed by telecos that are not Movistar, MasOrange or Vodafone.
In this paradigm shift, the Romanian operator plays a more than prominent role, demonstrating its strong commitment to continue installing low cost fiber throughout our national territory. In addition, wholesale operators, known as fiberdeco or netco, also stand out, having shown great growth during these years, numbering more than a dozen.
More than 22 million new accesses
Between 2019 and 2023, just over 22 million new fibre access points have been built in our country. Of all of them, alternative telecos such as those mentioned above have assumed up to 14.1 million of these new access points. Or, in other words, 61.9% of the total number of connections.
It is worth remembering that in 2019 operators such as Telefonica or Orange They already had a fiber deployment very advanced and, therefore, maintaining the same pace was especially complex, since they had to focus on less populated areas, which, at the same time, were also less profitable.
Even so, Telefónica has led the deployment of the big ones: opening 5.9 million new accesses, which represent 26.1% of the total. Orange, for its part, has opened 2.28 million, which have a weight of 10.1%, and Vodafone, in third place, has only added 39,000 new lines, which represents a rather passive period. MásMóvil ended the five-year period with a net balance of 387,000 new points.
The evolution of the greats
According to data from the CNMC, as reported by the newspaper Expansión, Telefónica ended the 2019 financial year with a total of 23.8 million accesses, accounting for 36.9% of all existing accesses. By the end of 2023, the Spanish teleco had a total of 29.7 million, representing a share of 31.4%. Despite having a greater share, its weight in the total has been reduced by the growth of alternative telecos.
Orange In 2019, the company had 14.8 million lines, while in 2023, the number of these lines rose to 17.1 million. In the case of the orange operator, the weight of its fiber deployment was reduced from 22.9% to 29.6%.
Vodafone, For its part, it went from 11.20 million to 11.24. Its initial fee was 17.4, while at the end of 2024 it fell to 12.9%. Over the last five years, Vodafone has relied more on its rental agreement with Telefónica than on the deployment of new points.
MoreMobile It went from 8.18 million in 2019 to 8.57 in 2023, losing almost three points during this period.
Alternative operators
As we have already anticipated, the great change in the distribution of weights comes from the alternative operators. Although we do not have individual data, since the CNMC does not offer them, It is known that this group of telecommunications companies went from having 6.5 million accesses in 2019 to reach 20.5 million in 2023. That is, it went from having 10.1% of the total to reaching 23.5%, increasing its share by 13.5 points in the last five years.
Networks that do not belong to the large telecos already represent the second network in Spain, surpassing the 17.1 million households Orange had. A significant change in the board that anticipates an interesting scenario for the next few years, especially if we take into account the changes we have recently seen in our country and that will surely represent a turning point for all those involved.
