French telecom giant Orange started on Monday offering 5G service in five of the largest Spanish cities, less than a week after rival Telefonica rolled out its own service in the whole country.

Orange now provides all its customers in the central areas of Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Malaga with 5G service at no additional cost on their telecom bill, the company said in a statement.

European telecoms operators are starting to roll out 5G to consumers and businesses, offering super-fast download speeds for smartphone users and supporting so-called smart devices and factories.

Orange plans to expand the 5G coverage to other Spanish cities later on, the statement said.

Orange is responding to its rival Telefonica, which launched a nationwide 5G service last Tuesday, with the goal of bringing the next-generation mobile internet to 75% of the Spanish population this year./Reuters