Yoigo, Spain's fourth-largest mobile operator, said it will invest €25 million ($27 million) in the expansion of its 4G mobile network with the goal of covering 80 per cent of the Spanish population in May 2016.
The company, which is owned by Sweden-based TeliaSonera, said its 4G network currently covers 66 per cent of the population. It noted that it expects to have deployed 80 per cent of its network by the end of March 2016, with 100 per cent network deployment achieved in late May.
Eduardo Taulet, Yoigo CEO, said: "We hope our customers are as happy as us. 4G has changed the habits of mobile surfing and is dramatically improving the user experience."
Yoigo remains the smallest of Spain's four mobile players and faces strong competition from Movistar, Vodafone Spain and Orange in the field of 4G as well as fixed-mobile convergence (FMC). The company's future continues to hang in the balance as TeliaSonera is still believed to be considering a sale of the operator.
In October, Bloomberg reported that a sale of Yoigo could fetch about €500 million. Local telecoms provider Masmovil Ibercom and private equity companies were reported to be among the potential buyers.
Meanwhile, Yoigo's rivals are also continuing to invest in the expansion of their own mobile and fixed networks. Vodafone Spain, which says on its web site that it covers 86 per cent of the population with its 4G network, recently said it is expanding its coverage in the Andalusia region of Spain, for example.
In November, Orange Spain said it would spend between €1.5 billion and €1.7 billion on FTTH coverage, and is also pursuing a €1.5 billion investment programme for 4G. The company completed the acquisition of Spanish fixed-line provider Jazztel in August.
For more:
- see the Yoigo release
- see this Bloomberg article
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