Andorra Telecom Completes Nationwide 5G Rollout with 91% Coverage

Andorra Telecom has completed its nationwide 5G expansion on the 3.5 GHz band this year, achieving 91% population coverage across 44 sites including Encamp, Anyós, La Massana, Arinsal, Santa Coloma, Grau Roig, Pas de la Casa, Canillo and Soldeu.

Work began in June with central preparations, fibre reorganisations and new infrastructure installations, wrapping up in the autumn. The upgrade adds a fresh capacity layer to the existing network without replacing it, doubling each base station's traffic handling. Compatible devices now access roughly twice the 4G speeds, lower latency and greater stability, particularly in crowded urban areas, shopping zones, ski resorts and major events.

The enhancements proved effective early on at Pal during La Vuelta's arrival, managing heavy traffic spikes efficiently. Andorra Telecom had already activated them at Estadi Nacional for the Small States Games opening. Xavier Agulló, head of marketing and sales, called it a pivotal project to strengthen mobile service quality. He said it equips the network to meet surging data demand, delivering more capacity, reliability and seamless performance in everyday use or peak periods.

Alongside this, the company upgraded its fibre network to support 10 Gbps for all homes and businesses, limited mainly by customer equipment like routers. The €4 million investment maintains current pricing while launching symmetrical 2.5 Gbps services for firms, previously capped at 1 Gbps. Residential packages improved too: 1 Gbps plans now offer 2 Gbps, 700 Mbps became 1 Gbps, and 300 Mbps rose to 500 Mbps, with a 500 Mbps minimum guaranteed countrywide.

Jordi Nadal, director general, pointed to benefits such as rapid uploads for content creators, quick game downloads, clearer video calls and smooth multi-device streaming in homes. He observed that capacity has grown 25 times since 100 Mbps in 2009.

This concludes the radio deployment from the 2021 5G debut. Core network advances, like slicing for emergency or industrial uses, await specific needs. High-speed 5G prioritises populated areas, with 4G or basic 5G in remote highlands.

Andorra Telecom also employs AI for efficiency, slashing a technical process from hours to 15 minutes and automating over 1,000 after-hours 111 calls. About 100 employees leverage tools like OpenAI for analysis, with protections for sensitive data.

On sustainability, it runs on 100% green energy from FEDA, trims its vehicle fleet toward electrics and promotes remote work to reduce travel. Social programmes advance gender balance in tech, digital wellness and child safety via youth SIM filters and parental WiFi controls. Subsidiary Diquital provides cybersecurity and automation for the company and local firms.

The rollout cements Andorra Telecom's status as a European tech leader, with this standard 5G band unavailable in many countries.