Now that it will accelerate investment in Portugal with a 5G license – Telecommunications
After the end of the 5G auction, Nowo now confirms that it wants to accelerate investment projects in Portugal, reinforcing the fixed network that already reaches 1 million homes and developing a new fiber network (FTTH) to reach another 1 million homes. homes in Greater Lisbon and Greater Porto, but which also aims to integrate the various infrastructures.
“NOWO is pleased with the conclusion of the 5G Auction, which will allow, at this stage, to accelerate the development of several projects, which are essential for the growth strategy”, defended the company in a statement, noting that “a minimally favorable regulatory environment was finally able to foster the interest, in the national market, where, in many years, there were hardly any movements”.
Now it was one of the six companies that participated in the 5G auction and invested 70 million euros in the purchase of seven lots of spectrum.
The company belongs to the MASMOVIL group, which represents around 500 million euros in investment per year in Spain, with more than 15 million customers, a competitive and valuable model that it says it wants to replicate also in Portugal through Nowo. Participation in the 5G auction “is part of an ambitious industrial project, which includes the development of a 5G mobile network in Portugal and also the implementation of state-of-the-art fiber optic technologies to modernize our current network, which covers almost one million homes in Portugal “, says the statement.
According to Nowo, the development of the mobile network started with the implementation of a new Core 5G, awarded to Ericsson, which will have the objective of creating an independent network, which will support the company’s growth in the acquisition of mobile service customers in Portugal. In a first phase, the objective is to develop more than 1,000 5G base stations.
The investment plan also provides for the modernization of Nowo’s current fixed network, which will cover, in a first stage, around 440,000 homes and businesses, with an internet connection of up to 1.2 Gbps. “The project was awarded during this month of October and is counting on its completion within a year”, explains the company.
The information shared refers that the operator has already provided high-speed services on the fiber optic network in 20,000 homes in the Urbanização do Infantado (Loures) and Odivelas. “This is the first XG-PON network in Portugal, being the most advanced in the market and with greater potential, as it allows up to 10Gbps to be offered, compared to the 1Gbps network currently offered in the market”, he says. This new fiber optic infrastructure (FTTH) will initially reach around 1 million homes in Greater Porto and Lisbon.
The company expects to complete the year 2021 with an investment in the order of 100 million euros.
an investment of more than 500 million euros is foreseen in the first 5 years.
The project foresees a trunk optical fiber network with more than 2,000 km that runs across the country, uniting all the main cities in several rings to guarantee the reliability of the service, a project that was achieved
Nokia and its latest phase will be launched by the end of this year. In October, NOWO also launched a consultation with the main telecommunications equipment suppliers in the market for the implementation of a new Metro-Ethernet and IP Aggregation network, which it also expects to award by the end of this year.
The company’s plans reveal an intention to integrate like multiple networks. “The purpose of this network is to unite the territory of Mainland Portugal, thus being a structure that will support the growth of customer traffic, whether of a fixed or mobile 5G service, also allowing to unite the current coverage areas of NOWO with the new fiber networks state-of-the-art optics in Lisbon and Porto”.
Editor’s Note: The news has been updated with more information. Last update 5:42 pm