subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 41.54 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 39,657
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 46.23 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 55,354,944
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 117.09 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 87,909
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 102.48 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.es
.ad
Internet users
total: 42,478,990
percent of population: 86.11% (July 2018 est.)
total: 78,483
percent of population: 91.57% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment:
well-developed and one of the largest telecom markets in Europe, with average mobile penetration for Europe; regulator has championed competition; LTE is nearly universal with shifts of service to 5G; operator joined government smart cities project; fixed-line broadband is backed by investment in fiber infrastructure; fiber broadband accounts for most of all fixed-line broadband connections; Chinese company Huawei contributes investment to the telecom sector; increased connectivity through submarine cable connection to Brazil; importer of broadcasting equipment from Europe (2021)
(2020)
domestic: fixed-line 42 per 100 and mobile-cellular 118 telephones per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 34; landing points for the MAREA, Tata TGN-Western Europe, Pencan-9, SAT-3/WASC, Canalink, Atlantis-2, Columbus -111, Estepona-Tetouan, FEA, Balalink, ORVAL and PENBAL-5 submarine cables providing connectivity to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia, Southeast Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), NA Eutelsat; tropospheric scatter to adjacent countries (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
general assessment: modern automatic telephone system; broadband Internet and LTE mobile lines for both consumer and enterprise customers available (2019)
domestic: 51 per 100 fixed-line, 113 per 100 mobile-cellular (2019)
international: country code - 376; landline circuits to France and Spain; modern system with microwave radio relay connections between exchanges (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 15,616,585
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33.03 (2019 est.)
total: 36,358
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 42.38 (2019 est.)
Broadcast media
a mixture of both publicly operated and privately owned TV and radio stations; overall, hundreds of TV channels are available including national, regional, local, public, and international channels; satellite and cable TV systems available; multiple national radio networks, a large number of regional radio networks, and a larger number of local radio stations; overall, hundreds of radio stations
(2019)
1 public TV station and 2 public radio stations; about 10 commercial radio stations; good reception of radio and TV broadcasts from stations in France and Spain; upgraded to terrestrial digital TV broadcasting in 2007; roughly 25 international TV channels available (2019)
