Number of 5G base stations installed in Portugal increased by 12% in the 2nd quarter of 2023

Following the launch of the commercial offer and the installation of the first base stations related to the 5^th generation mobile networks at the end of 2021, it is important to assess regularly (quarterly) the evolution observed in the implementation of these next generation mobile networks.

Based on the values observed at the end of the 1^st quarter of 2023 and now reporting to the 2^nd quarter of 2023, the following evolution was observed:

• The number of installed 5G¹ base stations increased by 12%, corresponding to 839 new stations, for a total of 7831 stations;
• All municipalities have already installed 5G base stations;
• The number of civil parishes with 5G stations increased by 7% (covering 59% of civil parishes), of which:

- Civil parishes in low density areas with 5G stations (13% more), with 428 new stations,

- Civil parishes in the Autonomous Regions with 5G stations (5% more), with 7 new stations.

NOS remains the operator with the highest number of base stations installed to date, followed by Vodafone and MEO. In terms of change in the number of stations installed compared to the previous quarter, NOS grew by 10% (+348 stations), Vodafone by 13% (+318 stations) and MEO by 15% (+173 stations).

Taking the end of the 2^nd quarter as a reference, NOS is the operator with the largest installed base of 5G base stations, with a total of 3725 stations (48%), followed by Vodafone with 2769 stations (35%) and MEO with 1337 stations (17%).

At the end of the 2^nd quarter of 2023, according to information reported to ANACOM, the number of base stations installed in the national territory using 5G technology totalled 7831 stations, spread across 308 municipalities (100% of the country’s municipalities) and 1833 civil parishes (59% of the country’s civil parishes).

 

Figure 1: Geographical distribution of 5G stations. The different images are not at the same scale. The overlapping of points of the same size can give a false impression of the number of stations per operator compared to other operators. This is especially the case in areas with a higher concentration of stations.

Regarding the density of 5G base stations in Portugal, it was found that at the end of the 2^nd quarter of 2023, the average was approximately one station per 12 km², with an increase in density compared to the previous quarter, which shows the growth of the 5G network in Portugal. This value varies greatly across the country, with the concentration of stations reaching values higher than the national average along the western coastline, mainly between Viana do Castelo and Setúbal, and the southern coastline (Algarve).

It also appears that the areas with a higher density of stations correspond to those with a higher population density or where the number of inhabitants is seasonal.

In terms of the territorial spread of 5G base stations by municipality, MEO is the operator with 5G base stations in the largest number of municipalities (304), followed by NOS with a presence in 276 municipalities and Vodafone in 268 municipalities.

 

Figure 2: Number of municipalities where each operator is present

Of the 308 municipalities in the country with 5G technology stations, 263 municipalities have base stations installed by three operators (MEO, NOS and Vodafone). Compared to last quarter, there are 36 more municipalities where all operators have installed 5G sites. With this increase, the number of municipalities with base stations installed by two operators falls to 14, 28 fewer than in the previous quarter, and the number of municipalities with base stations installed by only one operator falls to 31, 5 fewer than in the first quarter of 2023. Thus, we observe an increase in the representativeness of the three operators at the municipal level.

The list of municipalities where only one operator has installed base stations is as follows:

Municipality	OPERATOR
Alandroal	MEO
Alcoutim	MEO
Aljustrel	MEO
Almodôvar	MEO
Alvito	MEO
Arganil	MEO
Arraiolos	MEO
Barrancos	MEO
Borba	MEO
Campo Maior	MEO
Castro Verde	MEO
Cuba	MEO
Estremoz	MEO
Ferreira do Alentejo	MEO
Fronteira	MEO
Mértola	MEO
Mesão Frio	VODAFONE
Moura	MEO
Mourão	MEO
Ourique	MEO
Penacova	MEO
Portel	MEO
Redondo	MEO
Reguengos de Monsaraz	MEO
Serpa	MEO
Sousel	MEO
Tábua	MEO
Viana do Alentejo	MEO
Vidigueira	MEO
Vila Nova de Poiares	MEO
Vila Viçosa	MEO

Table 1 - Municipalities with base stations installed by only one operator

The map of the territorial spread of base stations by operator is shown in the following figure, where municipalities with three, two or one operator are indicated:

 

Figure 3: Municipalities with 5G stations - territorial spread of base stations per operator

With regard to the distribution of the 7831 base stations installed on national territory by civil parishes, it can be observed that they are present in 1833 parishes, which represents 59% of the country’s civil parishes.

 
 
Figure 4: Civil parishes with 5G stations

The total area of civil parishes without 5G stations represents 33% of the national territory and, according to the 2021 Census, corresponds to about 10% of the national population².

It should be noted that, using the hierarchical system for the division of the country into NUTS III regions, the number of 5G base stations in the administrative units of Douro, Beiras and Serra da Estrela, Beira Baixa, Médio Tejo, Alto Alentejo, Alentejo Central, Alentejo Litoral and Baixo Alentejo is significantly lower than in the other regions of the country.

The analysis shows that a significant majority of 5G stations (60% of the total, or 4736 stations) are located in Predominantly Urban Areas. Around 16% (1225 stations) are installed in Medium-Urban Areas and 24% (1870 stations) in Predominantly Rural Areas, representing an increase in stations in these last two types of areas since the end of the 1^st quarter of 2023.

 
Figure 5 - Number of 5G stations per type of area, urban or rural

Based on the mapping of Low Density areas, it can be seen that the vast majority of 5G stations is installed in civil parishes other than Low Density (5055 stations, 65% of stations), and about 77% of these parishes already have at least one 5G station. On the other hand, only 29% of all stations (2259 stations) are installed in Low Density parishes.

Of the total number of Low Density civil parishes (1813 parishes), only 48% (863 parishes) have 5G stations, while 950 parishes (52% of the total) still do not have 5G stations.

In the case of civil parishes of the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, 72% of parishes have 5G stations (152 civil parishes), while 58 civil parishes have not installed any 5G station.

 
Figure 6: Distribution of 5G stations by type of civil parish

If we compare the number of installed base stations with the number of civil parishes with installed base stations, we find that:

 
Table 2 - Average number of stations per civil parish with station

Despite this evolution, if we look at the total number of stations installed (2G, 3G, 4G and 5G), considering each technology separately, NOS is the operator with the largest number of stations, with a total of 1727 stations (36%). MEO has a total of 15787 stations (33%) and Vodafone has a total of 14645 stations installed (31%).

 
Figure 7: Number of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G stations per operator

 
Figure 8: Number of 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G stations per operator

Many of each operator’s 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G base stations are located in the same place, so it is important to analyse the total number of sites where each operator has base stations. It can be seen that Vodafone has stations in 5093 sites, MEO in 5077 sites and NOS in 4847 sites.

 
Figure 9: Total locations with 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G stations by operator

 

---