Orange touts pair of Spanish rail deals
Orange Spain scored €71.6 million in contracts to supply 5G coverage across a trio of high speed rail routes, a win it touted hours after Vodafone’s local unit revealed it secured a contract for two other lines.
In a statement, Orange highlighted it had won two of the three lots tendered by the transport infrastructure entity ADIF.
It claimed its proposals for the lots received “the highest score” and its bids topped those from Vodafone.
In partnership with Ericsson, which is also supplying kit for Vodafone’s deployment, Orange will provide and maintain 5G infrastructure across the high speed rail corridors.
The deals cover the stretch of lines between Plasencia, Caceres and Badajoz; Granada and Antequera; and Olmedo and Ourense.
Announcing the award of its contracts, ADIF said it was part of attempts to “promote the digitisation and efficiency of the railway system” with the entity committing €117.3 million to deployment of 5G on the network and within its assets.
Alongside advantages for passengers, the organisation hailed 5G as a “critical catalyst in the digitisation of the economy in the coming years”.
Within the rail industry, it pointed to use cases including advanced logistics; real-time traffic management; automated vehicles; predictive maintenance; and improved surveillance in stations and on trains.
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