- The Ministry is allocating 17,9 million euros to the deployment of native 5G in areas without coverage.
- The call for proposals, open until September 10, allows collaboration with autonomous communities and municipalities.
- Rural 5G coverage has increased from 26% to 96% since 2021, but there are still unconnected areas.
- The program includes a reserve fund for unforeseen events and for other administrations to complete the deployment.
The Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration has launched a new funding program to bring native 5G to the most isolated rural areas of Spain . The program, called '5G Very Rural Networks', has a budget of €17,9 million and will remain open until September 10th. The initiative targets municipalities where there is currently no 4G or 5G coverage from any operator and where there are no short-term deployment plans.
Of the €17,9 million, €15,6 million comes from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) 2021-2027 , while the remainder is financed from the national budget. With this call for proposals, the Government continues the investments made since 2021, which already exceed €1.453 billion, to improve connectivity throughout the country. 5G Stand Alone technology, also known as native 5G, offers advantages such as higher speeds, low latency, and the ability to connect many devices simultaneously, opening the door to new digital services in rural areas.
An investment of 17,9 million for native 5G
The aid will be allocated exclusively to the designated eligible areas, which were identified through a public consultation held in March. These are areas where no operator currently offers 4G or 5G coverage and where none is expected to do so within the next three years . The call for proposals, published in the Official State Gazette, stipulates that projects must deploy 5G SA infrastructure, the standalone version of this technology, which does not depend on existing 4G networks.
According to Ministry data, 5G coverage in Spain now reaches 99% of the population, while in rural areas it has increased from 26% in 2021 to the current 96%. However, the 5G SA version has a slightly lower penetration rate, standing at 91,22% in these areas. The new program aims to cover this last stretch of sparsely populated Spain , where low population density and the terrain complicate the profitability of private investments, similar to how MasOrange is completing the 5G SA rollout in rural areas.
Collaboration with administrations and reserve pool
One of the program's main innovations is the involvement of regional governments, provincial councils, and municipalities. Through a public consultation held in June, these entities were able to propose land, existing sites, or other facilities to incentivize operators. Ninety-six proposals were received from municipalities in 25 provinces , which are now available to telecommunications companies, although they are not obligated to use them.
Furthermore, the terms and conditions include a reserve pool that allows beneficiary operators to substitute sites if unforeseen circumstances arise that prevent the work from being carried out. This same pool can later be used by other administrations to develop connectivity programs in eligible areas not covered by the '5G Very Rural Networks' program.
The state of 5G coverage in rural Spain
The progress of connectivity in rural areas has been remarkable in recent years. According to the 2025 Broadband Coverage Report, the rural population with access to 5G has increased from 26% to 96% since 2021 , a rise of 70 percentage points. However, there are still small communities where the signal does not reach, and it is precisely in these areas that this new initiative focuses.
The arrival of native 5G in these areas will not only improve mobile communications, but also open up possibilities for sectors such as precision agriculture, smart livestock farming, and rural tourism , boosting agricultural robotics in the countryside . Services like telemedicine, online education, and e-government will benefit from a low-latency, high-capacity network, which can help retain population in the region and reduce the digital divide.
With a budget of €17,9 million, the '5G Very Rural Networks' program is presented as a further step in the Government's strategy to ensure that no municipality is left disconnected. The combination of European funds, collaboration with local authorities, and the flexibility of the reserve fund aim to overcome the economic and geographical barriers that have hindered the deployment of 5G in the most remote areas . The call for proposals, open until September 10, hopes to attract projects that will bring next-generation connectivity to villages still awaiting their digital opportunity.
