Telefónica will bring 5G to Spain this year, kicking off EU’s next-gen cellular race

Telefónica, Spain’s largest mobile carrier, announced today that it will begin the 5G rollout process this year by transforming two Spanish cities into “5G living laboratories.” Under the 5G Technological Cities Project, Nokia and Ericsson will work with Telefónica from 2018 through 2020 to develop initial 5G capacity, deployments, and use cases to benefit both citizens and companies.

Segovia and Talavera de la Reina will be the lucky early recipients of 5G technology; each is notably much smaller than Spain’s best-known cities and thus more manageable for full-city testing. Telefónica notes that its rollout will give priority to citizens — rather than companies — by deploying 5G throughout urban centers in a way that will help the cities develop new industries and increase tourism.