Orange Spain and the Madrid City Council have successfully completed Spain’s first real-world trial of 5G Standalone (SA) network prioritization for emergency services during a major public event.

This milestone, part of the European Emer5gencias project, validates mission-critical communications in scenarios of network congestion.

The test demonstrated that the 5G SA network assigns absolute priority to essential services such as the Municipal Police, SAMUR, and the Fire Department, ensuring stability even with high commercial traffic demand. Using network slicing, the solution separates critical traffic flows from general ones, offering low latency and high reliability during mass events or emergencies.

A 5G SA network utilizes a 5G core, unlike 5G Non-Standalone (5G NSA), which is built on a 4G core.

This advancement builds on previous deployments such as the 5G SA tactical bubble—a European first—which uses mobile vehicles and satellite connectivity to restore services during disasters where terrestrial infrastructure fails. It operates on commercial and reserved bands (B68), ensuring interoperability with existing systems.

Funded by the EU, Emer5gencias positions Madrid as a leader in 5G for public safety, opening up applications in urban mobility and civil protection. Orange integrates technologies such as Ericsson RAN and Core for scalability, paving the way for nationwide adoption of 5G MCX (Mission Critical Services).

The initiative strengthens digital resilience, key to smart cities and rapid disaster response, with the potential for replication in other Spanish municipalities.

This piece was automatically translated from DCD's Spanish site and edited by a member of DCD's editorial staff.