Europe

Spain's 5G traffic rises 61% and approaches a quarter of mobile data use

CNMC reports 61.1% annual growth and a 24.6% traffic share in the second quarter of 2026. The figures measure data volumes, not 5G coverage or subscriber numbers.

Traffic carried over 5G technology in Spain rose 61.1% year on year in the second quarter of 2026 and accounted for 24.6% of mobile broadband data volume. Regulator CNMC published the figures on October 14. The period measured ended in June: today's development is the release of the data, not a network rollout announced this week. Servimedia reported the results using the regulator's statistics. [1][2]

Total mobile broadband traffic reached 2.8 million terabytes, up 17% from a year earlier. 5G use therefore grew faster than mobile traffic overall. For operators and network suppliers, the difference shows that a larger share of data is being carried over 5G. It does not establish how many people have a 5G plan, the coverage available in each area or whether customers experienced better service quality. [1][2]

The report puts retail service revenue at €5.648 billion, virtually unchanged from the second quarter of 2025. Movistar, Vodafone, MASORANGE and DIGI accounted for 82.8% of that revenue. Growth in 5G traffic does not, on its own, demonstrate an increase in sector revenue. The photograph shows a CNMC office in Barcelona in 2017; it is an archive image, not a scene from the 2026 measurement. [1][2]

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