Spain Communications - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 19,639,778

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 41.54 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 55,354,944

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 117.09 (2019 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

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)

Internet country code

.es

Internet users

total: 42,478,990

percent of population: 86.11% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 15,616,585

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33.03 (2019 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Spain on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Spain 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Spain 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.