Both companies, in collaboration with the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society and the Cabildos of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Gran Canaria, have presented the project 'Connect by satellite'
The more than 360,000 people who reside in the "white areas" of the Canary Islands will have powerful access to the Internet thanks to the Ka band of Hispasat satellites and the Eurona platform.
Aquilino Antuña, founding partner of Quantis, a subsidiary of the Eurona Group, leading operator and provider of Internet, voice and data services, and Ignacio Sanchis, Business Director of Hispasat, the Spanish operator of telecommunications satellites, these days preside over the informative days "The satellite: quality connectivity for the rural environment", held in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and organized in collaboration with the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society and both councils.
Eurona and Hispasat have announced that they will offer satellite broadband Internet to the nearly 698,000 people in the Canary Islands who, to this day, still do not enjoy a fast and efficient connection. According to the latest Broadband Coverage Report published last month by the Ministry of Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda, this figure indicates that more than 33% of the Canarian population does not have a minimum speed of at least 30 Mbps, while 367,206 people (17.47%) do not even reach 10 Mbps. In the province of Las Palmas there are 324.180 (29.53%) people who can not navigate at 30 Mbps, and more than 170,000 ( 15.57%) those that do not reach 10 Mbps. Similarly, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife amount to 373,032 (37.15%) people who do not have a speed of 30 Mbps, and almost 196,000 ( 19.51%) those that do not surf even at 10 Mbps.
Sanchis and Antuña provided this data during the day, in which they have also presented Connect for Satellite, a digital inclusion project that aims to ensure access to the Internet for all citizens and improve the quality of life and economic development of the areas that lack connectivity or have low quality.
The satellite Ka band is presented as the best alternative to provide Internet access service to remote or sparsely populated areas where there are no other technological options, since, being more powerful and concentrated than other frequency bands, it allows a higher speed and a more adjusted cost, resulting much more efficient and facilitating a better service to the user. Hispasat has available capacity in Ka band over Spain in two of its satellites, the Hispasat 36W-1, launched last year, and the Hispasat 30W-6, which was placed in orbit three months ago.
With the recent agreement reached between Hispasat and Eurona to commercialize the Ka band of these satellites, the latter becomes the operator with the highest satellite capacity in Europe, which will be key to democratizing Internet access in Spain. Eurona offers a technological solution comparable in quality and price to other terrestrial technologies, with broadband services at 30 Mbps (from € 39.90) that can be requested through its platform, providing quality connectivity not only to residents in the Canary Islands, but also to anyone who is in Spanish territory, wherever he is and where he lives.
Eurona and Hispasat will thus contribute to reduce the digital divide in our country and open the doors of the digital world to all the inhabitants of rural areas, depopulated or difficult terrain where other telecommunications networks do not reach.
This project coincides with the recent announcement made by the Secretary of State for the Information Society and Digital Agenda of the start-up of the Program of Aids for the contracting of fixed broadband at 30 Mbps. Individuals, SMEs, entities without spirit of profit and populations of less than 5,000 inhabitants who do not have fixed broadband at a minimum of 10 megabits per second will have an aid of 400 euros that will cover the cost of discharging and installing the equipment. Precisely, Eurona has been the first operator to accede to this subsidy plan.
About Eurona
Eurona Wireless Telecom (EWT), is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company that offers broadband access services, new generation, and carries high-speed Internet where others do not, using wireless and satellite technologies. The multinational, which is listed on the Alternative Stock Market (MAB) since 2010, has a presence in more than 20 countries and has more than 40,000 customers.
