Spain: 83% of households use 5G. Opportunity for the metaverse and Web3?

The advancement of mobile technology in  Spain  has been unstoppable in recent years, and currently, 83% of homes use the 5G network. This fact could represent a unique opportunity for the development of  metaverse  and the  Web 3.0 .

Spain, with its high percentage of households connected to 5G, is well positioned to lead the development of these emerging technologies. The fast speed of the 5G network allows for a smoother user experience and without interruptions in the metaverse and decentralized applications ( dAaps ). Its development and growth could increase consumer adoption and interest in the crypto ecosystem.

The growing use of 5G technology is the result of the increase in digitization globally. In it, Spain has excelled even among the countries of the European Union.

Spain among the countries that is most committed to 5G technology

According to the recent " Digital Society in Spain 2023 Report ", by Fundación Telefónica, the number of Internet users does not stop growing.

“Digitalization is an unstoppable global phenomenon. In 2022, almost two thirds (66.3%) of the world's population was an internet user. This percentage is 3.7 points higher than de  2021  (62.6%). In absolute terms, there were more than 5.28 billion internet users, 338 million more than in 2021.”

The question of  gold  will be, How many of these internet users will participate in Web 3.0? 5G connectivity can facilitate the implementation of Web 3.0, since a robust and fast infrastructure is needed to handle decentralized transactions and applications based on  blockchain .

In Spain, 83% of the population already has access to 5G technology, making it one of the most advanced countries in terms of coverage. In addition, fiber optics is also widely available, covering 93.8% of the community environment, ensuring a fast and reliable connection for users.

5G is a technology that is expected to have a significant impact in various sectors, including entertainment, industry, transportation, and medicine. High connection speed and low latency will enable greater capacity--nbsp ;to transmit and process data in real time, which will improve efficiency and speed in many processes. Among them, the  crypto ecosystem would not be excluded at all.

It is worth mentioning that Spain was  the country that most publicly bet on the metaverse in 2022 . Although it should be noted that it is not clear to what degree 5G technology influenced this trend.

However, to make the most of this opportunity, it is important that significant investments be made in infrastructure and digital education. Businesses need access to cutting-edge technologies and trained experts in metaverse and Web 3.0 application development.

Similarly, consumers must understand the benefits of these technologies and feel comfortable interacting in these new environments.

5G: Greater benefits, accompanied by greater risks

Leaving aside the relative “abundance” of 5G technology in Spain; the study also establishes trust and   online security as critical factors in fostering digitization and enabling citizens and businesses to use networks safely. However, the growing number of cyber threats, such as the  ransomware  and the  malware , as well as the spread of misinformation, are raising concern.

In Spain, the proportion of companies affected by ransomware has increased from 14% to 22% in one year, according to Hiscox, and misinformation is considered a serious social problem, according to recent surveys. 91% of Spaniards- -nbsp;believes that disinformation through new technologies represents a danger to democracy and the stability of the country.

Confidence and security on the Internet become levers for digitization to the extent that they are necessary factors to guarantee the activity of citizens and companies on the networks. In this case, the growth of threats to organizations based on the  ransomware  —In Spain, the proportion of companies that have suffered a cyberattack of this type has increased from 14% in 2021 to 22% in 2022, according to information provided by Hiscox— ,  and del  malware  that affects personal devices. On the other hand, disinformation is already seen in Spain as a serious social problem according to some surveys: 91% of Spaniards say that disinformation is a danger to democracy and the stability of a country”.